Gravitational Pull
by Only a Stranger
Summary: Ladies and Gentleman! The moment you've all been waiting for! Our Lady of Antimatter! The Mistress of Time and Space! The Savior of the Universe! Experience her journey all over again... just not EXACTLY how you remember! There's some weird stuff going down this time around, but she is prepared! Her grand adventure begins now!
1. An Altered Beginning!

_Hello everyone, and welcome to the world of Pokémon! It is here where legends roam the land, and even the smallest of us can become heroes. It is in this world that our story takes place, specifically in the attic room of a small house at the southernmost point of the smallest town in the Sinnoh region, where a young girl is whiling away the minutes before she absolutely must take the first step on her grand adventure. Now, let us begin._

* * *

Chapter One: An Altered Beginning!

 _Twinleaf Town, September 13_ _th_ _, Morning_

… _From the hustle and bustle of Jubilife City, to the weighty ambiance of Celestic Town, to the mix of industry and history enveloping cities like Canalave and Eterna. Even the wonders of nature are protected and nurtured, from Eterna Forest and Pastoria's Great Marsh, to the beautiful Floaroma Town._

 _And who could forget the Pokémon? There are many species that call Sinnoh exclusively their home. Catch a rare Pokémon to gain an edge in battles back home, or to take the Contest Hall by storm! Book a trip to Sinnoh today!_ Sponsored by the Sinnoh Board of Tourism.

 _Click!_

The girl set the remote on the floor, having finally run out of reasons to put off going downstairs. Standing up, she began to dress for the weather: a light sweater and pink jacket over her top, pink boots for the occasional snowdrift, and her favorite white hat and matching scarf to complete the look. Slinging her bag on her shoulder, she steeled herself for what was the biggest milestone in every girl's life: her first Pokémon. _What kind of Pokémon will it be? Will it listen to me? Will I be a good Trainer for it?_ Shaking her head, she dispelled her doubts for the time being, feeling a bright smile stretch across her face as excitement welled up in their stead. "This is it! Today's the day I officially become a Pokémon Trainer!"

"Hey!" She held back a shriek of surprise, not hearing anyone come up. A blonde boy about her age in an orange-and-white striped jacket and a brown shoulder bag leapt into her attic room, ignoring the ladder up completely. "What am I, chopped liver? Last time I checked, Dawn, we're _both_ getting Pokémon today- oh, hey!" He zipped over and inspected her bag. "Is that a Wonder Bag?! How'd you get your hands on one of those?"

"Barry, remember what I said about boundaries?"

"Whoops, sorry! Uh… Where was I?" He scratched his head a bit, trying to get back on topic. "Oh, right, right! We're going to go see Prof. Rowan and get some Pokémon."

"Right, so, uh, where do we go? Sandgem Town?" It would be extremely dangerous trying to get there on foot, but if they could find someone with a Pokémon that could Fly…

Barry shook his head. "The others said that his mobile Lab would be parked right outside of town! Let's go right now! I'll be waiting outside." He raced to the ladder, but before departing said, "Oh, and hurry, will ya? If you're late, I'm fining you ¥10 million!"

Dawn breathed a sigh of relief; though Barry was her best friend (granted, he was her _only_ friend, but it still counted), she preferred thinking and reacting at her own, more sedate pace, not having to keep up with his hyperactive personality. Walking around, she patted her small trophy case displaying a green belt and a silver medal, shut down her PC, and finally climbed down the ladder to the lower levels of her house, passing her mom's room and guest room before reaching and descending the stairs.

Upon reaching the landing, she was met with a "Dawn!"

"Eek!" _Bam!_ "Ow!"

"Oops, sorry honey! I didn't mean to frighten you!" Johanna Berlitz pulled her daughter back up and helped smooth out her outfit.

"I wasn't _frightened_ , Mom, just… startled," Dawn pouted.

"Well sorry for _startling_ you, then. Come on, chin up kiddo! It's your big day; you're finally getting a Pokémon! Barry already left, but I'm sure you can still catch him if you hurry." _Oh Mom, if you only knew,_ Dawn thought to herself; knowing Barry, he was already halfway there by now. "You'll wanna hurry now, dear," she continued, not quite pushing her favorite teenager to the door, "the Professor's not going to be there all day. So off you go!" Scooting her out, she waved her off, only succeeding in causing a bead of sweat to form on Dawn's forehead.

"Huh? What's all of this about!? It's not like I'm going to be late for a flight or anything. Besides, I still have-" she ducked back in and glanced at the clock "—15 MINUTES?!" She dived out the door and raced north, yelling, "Oh my crease, _oooh_ my crease!" all the while.

Johanna watched her run out of sight with a wave and a smile. "Go, Dawn, go!" she only half-jokingly called out, thinking to herself, _Huh. Everything else aside, I don't think I've ever seen her run before_. _Glad to see there's_ something _that can light a fire under her._

* * *

 _As one can probably tell, this will be a Platinum retelling._ _One may also notice that there are already some… deviations from the source material. It doesn't pay to be a mere novelization, so my retelling will have some_ _plot points and artistic_ _choices_ _specific_ _to my style_ _. This will become apparent as time goes on, but for now, Favorite, Follow, and Review please. My next update will be in four days. Till then, take care._


	2. Race Against The Clock!

_Hello, everyone, and thank you for stopping by. This chapter, as you might've noticed, is substantially longer than the first. My chapters won't follow an arbitrary word limit (like my other story) but rather, it lasts as long as it needs to to tell the story it needs to tell. But that's a matter not befitting for the top of the page, so I will save it for another time. For now, enjoy._

* * *

Chapter Two: Race Against the Clock!

"Ohmicreaseomicreaseohmicreaseohmicreaseohmicreaseohmicrease!" Dawn was running as fast as she could for the town entrance, ignoring the stitch that was stabbing at her side as best she could. _I can't believe I put it off as long as I did! What was I thinking!? And why do I live so far away from the entrance?! Where is the benefit in that?!_

 _Okay, Dawn, just keep going. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. You can do this. You've_ earned _this. You've stayed home for a year after you earned your Trainer's license so you could finish school. You held yourself AND Barry back from trying to brave Route 201 when you heard a rumor that Professor Rowan himself was catching Pokémon there for research. You have ignored taunts from "peers" who got a Pokémon as soon as they got their license and left on their journey with dreams of being the next Champion, and holding back the same when most of them came back a month later without a single Gym Badge. Heck, you and Barry were the ones who held that swarm of Rattata off from the grade school last month before Barry's dad showed up to deal with them! You will NOT miss this!_

She wasn't beating herself up solely because she would've waited as long as she had for nothing, though. In fact, she would've left as soon as she graduated back in June, if not for Barry bringing a rumor to light that at first seemed too good to be true: Professor Rowan of Sandgem Town was setting up an experiment requiring a number of new Trainers, and he was looking at the newest batch in Twinleaf for them! Sensible as she was, Dawn dismissed the tidbit of news out of hand, along with most of the students, much to Barry's frustration (but then, given his typical impatience, it wasn't really outside the norm). That topic was more or less forgotten until after graduation, when the official announcement was made: the Professor had recently come into possession of a number of exceedingly rare Pokémon, and wanted to pick from a similarly new crop of Trainers to raise them for his study. As even a Slowpoke could guess, everybody lost their mind upon hearing the news, and it wasn't hard to see why. As a Pokémon Professor, Rowan had to have come across a myriad of rare and powerful Pokémon in his studies, and they had the chance to train one for themselves!

Of course, these Pokémon couldn't just be _given_ away like bead necklaces at the summer festival. No, Rowan, along with some aides, would personally test the attributes of each applicant to see of they would have what it took (exactly _what_ they had to have was another matter entirely). There were over twenty applicants, and only six Pokémon; chances were already slim as it was. _And they'll be zero if I don't get there in time!_

Jumping over a Machop laying down cables, she dashed through a busy work area in the middle of a house repair; the Rattata swarm chewed its way through several buildings. Mollifying the several workers who called after her with a quick bow and apology, she vaulted over a barricade and continued on her way, the tree line marking the beginning of Route 201 quickly coming into view. She let out a whoop at the sight and ran the home stretch was a grin, only stopping when she reached the site. It was a temporary plaza setup, complete with two cafeteria tables with umbrellas (and a single wooden chair), a chrome trailer with a window on the side, and Dawn's fellow applicants all standing in a line, with the exception of Barry, who was apparently in an altercation with an increasingly harried-looking woman in a lab coat and red glasses.

"And all I'm saying is that you can't start the test just yet!" he said, a hint of desperation coloring his words.

"And all _I'm_ saying is that the test starts when it starts, and it starts in less than a minute." The woman's tone was calm, but brisk, and brooked no more argument. Barry seemed to pick up on this, and looked visibly deflated as he got back in line. Her expression softened at the sight, but her words, though gentler, were still firm: "I'm sorry, but if your friend isn't here by noon, then she's out. There's nothing I can do about it."

"I'M HERE!"

Dawn's shout instantly snapped Barry out of his funk, and he and a few others let out a cheer. She got into line triumphantly, breathing hard but feeling reinvigorated. The murmurs that sprang up in her wake were silenced by a small but insistent _ahem_ from the woman. Sweeping her gaze across the row of adolescents, she nodded and said, "Okay, so it appears that all of the applicants are now present, but just to be sure, I'm going to perform a roll call." She flipped through her clipboard until she found what was presumably the signup sheet and, raising it to the light, began to rattle off names:

"Acosta, Heather."

"Here!"

"Andes, Rocky."

"Here!"

"Berlitz, Dawn."

"Present."

"Cedric, Barry."

"Present!"

"Cyan, Ashur."

"Here."

"Elaine, Marisol… Sophia Umbra."

"Yes, I am here."

"Gold, Malcolm."

"Present."

"Gray, Johnson."

A sigh, then, "Here."

"Harlow, Vance."

"Yep!"

And so on and so forth, until she finished with "Zabini, Blaise" ("That's not even his real name! It's Dylan! That's gotta be grounds for disqualification!" Barry muttered loudly, inciting giggles from the nearest teens and a glare from Zabini). "Okay, it seems that everyone is here, so without further ado, let's get started, shall we?" The woman straightened her glasses, and continued in a more official manner, "Welcome, Trainers, and thank you for coming today. My name is Roseanne, and I am one of Professor Rowan's aides and your test coordinator. As you know, you are all vying for one of six unique Pokémon to raise for the Professor's project. This process will have two parts: Part one will be a multiple-choice and written examination, similar to the one taken for your Trainer's license. Part two will be an interview to see if you have not only the required knowledge, but also the preferred abilities and qualities for optimal results. Please sit twelve to a table, and I will return with the tests shortly."

She entered the trailer, leaving the gaggle of new Trainers to scramble for seats next to their friends. Dawn, naturally, gravitated towards Barry, who was talking to Dan, one of their fellow students from the town dojo, and was saving a seat for her on his other side. "There's gotta be something else to it, though," he was saying, as she sat down and pulled out a few pens, keeping one for herself while giving the other to Barry. "Thanks," he said automatically, still embroiled in his conversation. She left him to it, instead observing the debate quietly. "It can't just be the licensure exam all over again, even if it would be harder."

Dan shook his head, stringy ponytail swinging wildly. "Well, what else could it be? Seriously, the oldest one here is fifteen, and that's only because he got left back. They won't bring out anything we can't've seen before, so as long as we kept ourselves sharp on that front, this should be doable."

 _That_ does _make sense_ , Dawn thought reluctantly; she wasn't the _biggest_ fan of the boastful and self-important Dan. Even so, she had to agree with him. The Trainers in attendance were completely green, and had no knowledge of advanced battle techniques and strategies; to set a test asking after those before them would be completely unfair, not to mention pointless. The trailer door opened again, conversation ceasing, and out walked Roseanne with a stack of test booklets. She made her way over to the tables, dropping half of the booklets off at their table, and the other half at the second. "Does everybody have an exam? If so, we can begin." She pulled out an egg timer, wound it up, and set it on the nearest table. "You have forty minutes. You may now start."

The sounds of pens scribbling and pages turning filled the air. Dawn filled out the required information on the front and turned to the next page, where a single, handwritten question filled the page: _Do you love Pokémon?_ The area took on a confused atmosphere, signaling that she was not the only recipient. "Um… Ms. Roseanne?" Marisol asked. Dawn resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the sound of her voice; the two never saw eye to eye over anything, as much because of Marisol's snobbishness and tendency to brown nose teachers as Dawn's natural reluctance to socializing. Paired with a long-held academic rivalry, the girls had a healthy dislike of each other.

"Hm?" Roseanne had sat on the wooden chair, and was seemingly playing with her almost absurdly large phone. "Oh, yes, yes, answer all the questions as best you are able, and no talking."

"O-okay," Marisol said, and sat down with a bothered expression. The scratching of pens started up again, but trailed off almost immediately after, and a definite aura of bewilderment permeated the area. Dawn, already having a good idea of its source, wrote in her "Yes" and turned the page. Sure enough, the next question (in the same elaborate penmanship, no less) read, _Let me ask again: do you love Pokémon?_

 _What kind of test_ is _this?_ Frustrated, she wrote in big, bold letters, _Y_ _es_ _, I do love Pokémon._ Turning the page, she saw only one word: _Good._ She could only stare in incredulity at the impossibly esoteric "exam". Having to restrain herself to keep from tearing the malign booklet to shreds, she instead turned the page, blocking out the dark mutters from the others, as well as the sharp, "No talking!" from Roseanne that instantly silenced them. This time, a full sentence greeted her: _Then we can begin._ Foreboding stabbing at her, she swallowed, rolled out a crick in her neck, and turned the next page, where Hell awaited her.

* * *

 _And so ends the chapter. Ominousness of the last sentence aside, you probably saw the question "Do you love Pokémon?" and immediately thought of Professor Rowan's dialogue. There are actually several references hanging around this chapter, so good on you if you recognize them all. As before, Favorite, Follow, and Review, and I will see you next time._


	3. A Shocking Development!

_Hello again, everyone. This chapter might seem strange for now, along with others I release in the future, but the further I go with this story, the more everything will come together. So remember, everything you read in this story (barring any mistakes in grammar or spelling… for the most part) is here for a reason. Whether it pans out in the end or not is another question._

 _Also, I don't think I said this before, so I might as well: The following is a fan-made work of fiction. Pokémon is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures Inc., and Satoshi Tajiri. Please support the official release. Now, on to the chapter._

* * *

Chapter Three: A Shocking Development!

 _Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!_ "All right, everyone, time's up! Close your exams and stack them in the middle of your table so I can collect them," Roseanne chirped, oblivious to the Trainers' fatigue. Dawn slid her booklet to the middle of the table, where an ashen Dan stacked it on top of the others, and lay her head on her arms. _It's over, it's finally over._ From the first real question, she knew it was going to be a nightmare: _How many unique spot patterns can Spinda have?_ Considering she had no idea what a Spinda was, she could only make a wild guess of "twelve" before moving to the next question: _Explain the best method of parasitic mushroom removal from the Pokémon Parasect_. It went on and on: the main tenets of the Torterra Planet Theory; the average temperature of a Houndoom's Flamethrower; an explanation of the symbiotic relationship between Starly and Gliscor; the probability of an oddly colored (shiny) female Combee being encountered, etc. She groaned, her head pounding just thinking about it. "I don't think I got a single question right."

"You're telling me!" Barry said beside her, looking pointedly at Dan, who was pointedly ignoring him, instead choosing to hand Roseanne the booklets. "That test asked for all sorts of stuff we couldn't have seen before. We DEFINITELY didn't have any questions like those on the Trainer exam." Having vented for the most part, he then turned to Dawn, who made the effort to turn her head towards him, though she didn't raise it. "But seriously," he continued, "why were the questions so _hard_? They asked for Trainers that didn't even start out yet; why give questions they knew we couldn't answer?"

"Barry, if I knew that, would I be like this?" Dawn was sitting in the closest approximation to a fetal position the table would allow.

"...No."

"Well there you go. Look, they'll tell us what they were thinking when they start eliminating, so for now, how about we just relax?" Roseanne chose that moment to reappear, putting the kibosh on Dawn's proposition. "Okay Trainers, we have the results of your exam," she said, waving her clipboard. Dawn blanched. _So soon? Just what were they expecting?_ She jumped in her seat as Roseanne continued, "I suppose I should get this out of the way: Cyan Ashur, you have scored zero points... by way of not answering any of the questions."

Cyan stood up, face set. "I will not participate in such a pointless test. To set this out before us is unfair, and foolish in the extreme."

Roseanne face was unreadable as she said, "Well, I'm not the one to tell this. If you wish to explain your reasons in full, Professor Rowan is inside." Cyan wordlessly made his way for the trailer, stoic but paler than before. "Well, well, how... unusual," Roseanne continued, looking back at the exams. "It seems that everyone else failed spectacularly, with no one scoring above even 15%… except for one person." She looked up from her clipboard, the reflection of the sunlight obscuring her eyes. "Will Marisol Sophia Umbra Elaine please stand up?" The Trainers all turned to Marisol, whose hastily constructed expression of nervousness did nothing to hide the smugness rolling off of her in waves. "Well Miss Marisol, it seems you've scored a solid eighty out of a possible one hundred points. Well done." Marisol's face lit up in glee, while the rest of the Trainers were left to salvage their egos as best they could, three of her friends giving her especially venomous glares.

Dawn's got it the worst, though; Marisol always outperformed her in school, snatching the top spot with a point or two to spare, leaving her with the second place position more times than she cared to remember. In fact, the only subject Dawn managed to beat her in wasn't even a school course: it was karate class. Marisol, talented though she was, never made it past yellow belt; last year's sparring match between her and Dawn was enough to make her quit in a miserable fit of frustration. Anytime she was ready lose hope in the wake of a discouraging defeat (much like today's), Dawn liked to hold the memory of her palm striking Marisol in the face close to her heart. She liked to think it gave her strength. But that was then, and this was now, and now, Dawn was rubbing her temples in a futile attempt to lessen the impact of a fast approaching migraine.

"Thank you, Ms. Roseanne," Marisol said glibly, giving a small curtsy. "I've always been _fascinated_ by this sort of work, but this sort of thing almost never comes up in school, so I'd just spend time in the library alone reading up on it. Imagine my surprise when it showed up here!" She tittered, sending a sharp pain into Dawn's head. Laying her head back down, she moaned, "Hate… her…"

"Yeah, join the club," Vance said, his hangdog expression saying it all.

"Is she beating you in all your classes, too?" She and Marisol fortunately only shared a few classes.

Vance snorted and shook his head briskly, his short, dirty-blonde hair flying. "Yeah, but I don't care about that. I care about the fact that she's this saccharine, insincere snob that somehow has most of the boys in our year wrapped around her little finger, including, if I'm not mistaken, your hyperactive puppy." Vance didn't much like Barry, mainly because Barry had a habit of crashing into him at the most inopportune moments.

"Would you stop calling him that?"

"Why? You can't say it doesn't fit: he follows you everywhere, jumps at the chance of helping you with any task, and always gets the two of you into trouble."

"Look, I can go on for hours about how you're wrong, but it looks like Marisol's finally closing off her little humblebrag," Dawn huffed.

Indeed, Marisol had come up from yet another bow, and was facing an impassive Roseanne, who said, "Once again, well done… at least, I _would_ say that, if not for-" she pulled out her phone and turned its screen toward her "-this _fascinating_ video from the camera we set up in the umbrellas." Everyone in attendance watched with rapt attention as the video played, showing Marisol checking her phone under the table, writing in an answer, and whispering to her friends under her breath, who then wrote in their answers. Roseanne continued, steamrolling over Marisol's stuttered excuses: "It's a shame really: we had heard a lot about you, all of it good. I certainly didn't think I had to explain that checking online for answers wasn't allowed. As it is, I'm afraid you are disqualified, along with your friends." Said friends, Heather, Vanessa, and Mindy, all began speaking at once:

"But our scores weren't higher than anyone else's!"

"She fed us bogus answers, though!"

"I waited three months for this!"

"Be that as it may," Roseanne said, pushing her glasses up, "rules are rules. Good day." Marisol let out a cry of frustration, making everyone jump. "Well what did you expect me to do, huh? You gave us a test that you'd have to be _insane_ to expect us to be prepared for! What was even the _point_?!"

"I'm not one to presume the Professor's motives. Even so, I can say with confidence that cheating is not one of them. So again: good day, ladies."

With a final growl of anger, Marisol stormed off alone, the others having left shortly before. Roseanne clapped once, snapping everyone's attention back to her. "Focus everyone, we don't have all day. Now, Professor Rowan assigned the pass/fail mark at eight points, so all tests at eight points and above will be called now: Rocky Andes with nine, Dawn Berlitz with eleven, Barry Cedric with eight, Johnson Gray with fourteen, Vance Harlow with ten, Dan Hibiki with eight, Rain Long with eight, Jessica Slifer with thirteen, Ryan Vent with eleven, and Hannah Wells with ten. You nine, please step inside the trailer and sit in the provided space. I am sorry to say that no one else made it past the cutoff point. You may all go home and, as consolation, you will each receive three Great Balls by mail, courtesy of the Sandgem Research Lab."

As the crushed hopefuls left, a few in tears, Dawn, Barry and the rest crowded into the trailer, were a number of folding chairs greeted them. Sitting, they waited for further instructions, to nervous to converse. Finally, Roseanne came into the room. "Professor Rowan is ready for the interviews. Now, he says that he will see you two at a time, so make your decision quickly, everyone, and I'll be back in a minute." She dipped back, leaving a flurry of conversation in her wake. Dawn, of course, stood by Barry. Dan and Rocky, Johnson and Jessica, Rain and Hannah, and Vance and Ryan all paired up as well. Soon, Roseanne's voice called out, "Okay, I'm back." Dipping back into the room, she took note of the pairs, thought for a moment, and declared, "Rain and Hannah, you two are first, followed by Barry and Dawn, Ryan and Rocky, Dan and Vance, and finally Johnson and Jessica. Rain and Hannah, follow me to the Professor's office." The three walked out, leaving the others sitting silently for roughly ten minutes, straining to hear anything from the other room, before Roseanne returned alone. "Where are Rain and Hannah?" Rocky asked, befuddled.

"They left by the other door," she replied simply.

"So… did they pass? Are they getting a Pokémon?" This was Jessica, sharp green eyes opened wide.

"I cannot reveal that," Roseanne said, not missing a beat despite Jessica's almost predatory expression. "You'll simply have to wait and see. Now, Barry and Dawn, you're up. Please follow me."

* * *

 _And that's that. I hope it answered only one question you might have had so far, and raised several more as a result. As always, Follow, Favorite, and Review, and the next chapter will be posted around next week. Till then._


	4. Meet The Professor!

_Well, it is what it is (and what it is is nearly twice the length of the first three chapters combined). Here's a new chapter. It will have some backstory, and will hopefully answer a few more questions. Enjoy._

* * *

Chapter Four: Meet The Professor!

Barry and Dawn were seated in front of a small metal table piled high with research papers, scientific journals, and other documents of the like, behind which sat Professor Rowan himself. He was an older man of around sixty, with bright white hair and an intimidating mustache. He wore a dark gray trench coat over a white shirt, gray tie, and blue vest. His gray eyes were set in a stern face, and his voice was deep and gruff when he greeted them. All things considered, the duo was sufficiently subdued by his sense of presence.

The three were in a sort of stare-off: the professor peered over his steepled fingers at the Trainers, while the Trainers did their best to meet his gaze unflinchingly. After about thirty seconds of this, he broke eye contact, instead pulling out a file from one of the many stacks of papers on the table. Flicking it open, he began to skim through it. "So, Barry, Dawn, it says here that you two headed off a Rattata swarm that attacked the town back in August. Explain to me what happened, exactly; I was off in Eterna Forest at the time, and what information I garnered of the incident after the fact is rather muddled, so a firsthand account would be of great help." Dawn and Barry seemed to switch attributes at that moment; Dawn began to tremble with a newfound energy, while Barry seemed to overload and freeze completely, too excited to move. They both had the same thought: _This is our chance! We'll get a Pokémon for sure!_ Of course, there was another element in there, though they both did their best to ignore it: fear. They then began speaking at once; the whole of this dialogue is much too confusing to actually put down in its entirety, what with the two talking over each other, minor contradictions to make themselves seem more heroic (or at least less childish) throughout the event, and general messy storytelling, with revisions and add-ons rampant as each teen remembered one crucial point after another well after said event happened in their narrative. As it is, the full story shall be imparted to you, reader, by another medium: a flashback. It takes place one month ago next week, in a place called Kickin' Rick's Rockin' Karate Dojo. There, some time after the advancement exam for the afternoon session's students, and the students were dressing up to head home…

 **Twinleaf Town, August 9th, Afternoon**

"The only thing a black belt means," Dan said, putting on his shoes, "is that you've mastered the _basics._ It's not like you can go toe to toe with Dasher just because you've got a piece of cloth around your waist." Dasher was Sensei Rick's Hitmonlee. Old, grouchy, yet nimble and _very_ powerful, he often assisted Rick in the training of his pupils while he was dealing with back office work. Said pupils, of course, were terrified of rousing his (easily roused) ire, due to the hefty Rolling Kick he would dole out to anyone who did just that.

"'Course not," Barry said defensively. "Rick explained the _dans_ on the first day, remember? There's always gonna be more to learn, like with Pokémon, ya know?"

Blaise scoffed. "What would you even know about Pokémon, Barry? You've never even had one."

"Neither have you, Dylan, so knock it off." Dawn was getting tired of breaking up the frequent playground arguments that sprung up every few minutes, and simply wanted to shut down the main source of the drama.

"It's BLAISE! Jeez, people, it's been a month now since I've changed it. How long is it going to be before you guys get it?"

"Well, it's August now, so… never," Dan snarked.

"Blaise" groaned in irritation. "Whatever. And to answer your question, my mom owns two Pokémon, but since she isn't a very good Trainer, she has me do it. So I'm much more qualified than this loser."

Barry swelled his thin chest in anger. "Who're you callin' a loser?"

Blaise looked at him with a show of mock innocence. "Oh, sorry, let me make it more clear." He got up from the ground and stood toe to toe from the incensed Barry. "I tried to say "You are a _loser_ ," pal. Hope that helps."

"You wanna go, let's go!" Barry was positively irate at this point, his manic energy barely allowing him to settle into a stance. The boy formerly known as Dylan shifted into his own seamlessly, a smirk curling his lip. Vance's bark of laughter cut through the air, alerting the students to their until then silent classmate. "So what, Dylan, this was your plan? To get Barry all riled up and try to beat him like that? You aren't getting a blue belt either way, so how about you skip the inevitable humiliation and go straight to training for real?"

"I don't need your "advice", Harlow. Honestly, I'd have thought that you would be the one to go after this chump-"

"Who's the chump here?!"

"-Considering that Rick passed over his own son for advancement in favor of the neighbor kid," Blaise finished, ignoring Barry's outburst completely.

Vance's next laugh actually had a hint of mirth in it, to the listeners' surprise; he was usually overwhelmingly dour. "Believe me, the old man knows how good I am; certainly better than Cedric over here." Barry didn't say anything; several sparring matches over the last few months had cemented that assertion as fact. "He just expects better from me than from the rest of you." He rolled up his mat, put it in the bin and headed for the door, slipping his shoes on at the entrance. "Anyway, I'm going home. Way too much salt to deal with right now, you see. Later." He exited, leaving Barry and Blaise standing awkwardly. With a small cough, Blaise grabbed his duffel bag and likewise made for the exit, only to jump aside as a younger kid of about ten raced in.

"Rattata swarm!" he yelled, panic-stricken. "There are hordes of 'em in town, chewing though buildings and power lines! Everybody's gotta evacuate!" The group began to panic themselves; Rattata were a huge source of trouble, like many of the Pokémon that emigrated from Kanto in the past year, but they usually limited their excursions to swarming alleyway dumpsters and the sewers. An attack like this, with buildings reportedly being ruined, was completely out of the blue.

"Oi! What's all this here?" The group's commotion had piqued the interest of the titular Kickin' Rick, who looked, as almost always, as if he had just woken up. The aging Rocker massaged his neck with one hand while he continued: "So? Don't leave me hangin', guppies, what's all the ruckus about? And who're you?" he asked, pointing at the new kid with his free hand. "You aren't one of my students. At least, not one I recall."

The boy stared at Rick in silence. It wasn't especially odd; Rick's rather eccentric appearance often did that to those meeting him for the first time: all leather boots, pants, and vest typical of a Rocker, along with a typical lack of a shirt, exposing his chest hair and beer gut; Long, graying blonde hair traveling halfway down his back; prominent sideburns and a long nose and chin gave his face a pointed appearance very much the opposite of his son's rather blunt features. Electric blue eyes, big, eerily denture-like teeth, and a cauliflower ear completed the bizarre look. "Well, he's useless," Rick declared after a minute. "Anyone else wan-"

"Oh, uh, sir!" the boy said, snapping out of it. "My name's Travis, but there's an issue, sir! There are Rattata attacking this part of town! Everyone needs to evacuate now!"

Rick started. " _This_ part of town? The hospital's here!" He raced out the door, and said, "You five get to safety while I check the situation there!" before darting off. Wasting no time, the kids filed out of the Dojo and made their way north, watchful of their surroundings all the while. Then, scant yards away from Route 201, Travis cried out in horror, "Oh no! I forgot about the school! They're still holding cram school there right now! I gotta-"

"Hold up, kid!" Barry said before he ran off. "It's too dangerous! Just get to safety; we'll handle it!" The others piped up:

"I'm not going near those things!"

"Not on your life!"

"It'd be better if an adult handled it. Or at least, you know, a _Trainer_."

"Well, we don't have either of those things, Dawn!" he retorted, ignoring Dan and Blaise's objections. "Look, I'm going to the grade school! You guys follow if you want!" He zoomed away, and was out of sight within moments. Dawn cursed, but followed dutifully, her sense of loyalty not allowing anything less. While they were still within earshot, she heard Dan leading Travis off to safety. She put off any thoughts of what was ahead of her in an attempt to strengthen her resolve. This lasted until she actually caught Barry at the grade school. From what she could see of him, he was pale, and standing stock-still. Walking up to him, she said, "Barry, why'd you stop? Is something wro…" her voice trailed off, as she took in the same sight Barry had: the Rattata had completely swarmed the school.

Dozens of the creatures were chewing their way through the walls, and from the shrieks coming from the low building, several of them had already found their way inside. Most worrying of all, however, was the Pokémon glaring at the two of them at that moment: a scarred, yellow-toothed Raticate. On one level, Dawn concluded that this was the most likely the cause of this attack; while Rattata were normally extremely meek Pokémon, Raticate could be vicious when they had the mind to be, and could rile Rattata into a frenzy. If a number of Raticate evolved into being around the same time, they would eventually try to drive each other from their previously shared territory, leading to the loose packs of Raticate and their Rattata sacking Twinleaf Town. On another level, however, Dawn was thinking, _Great Llama God in the sky, why_ this _?!_

Clearly, it was far too late to tell everyone to evacuate, and seeing as they had no real means of driving the Rattata off—or of fighting their increasingly twitchy Raticate leader—the duo were well and truly useless in the situation at hand. A muttered, "Darn it, Barry, just move!" alerted Dawn to her friend's struggle: he was… _Afraid?_ She immediately shook her head, and then froze as the Raticate's head twitched toward her. _No_ , she thought to herself, _it couldn't be. Since_ _when_ _i_ _s Barry ever afraid_ _of anything?_ Whatever flaws anyone would point out about Barry, cowardice was not one of them. If anything, Dawn was the scared one; Barry always had to pull her along for one adventure or another, from testing out Jessica Slifer's parachute design (that little excursion ended with a broken arm), to trying out some worryingly purple Qwilfish sushi with Barry and his dad, Palmer, who brought it on his last visit (that resulted in a trip to the hospital. But Dawn could at least admit that it wasn't half bad regardless). For Barry's boundless positivity to finally run dry, for him to be _afraid_ , was terrifying to her.

The Raticate had finally had enough of the two trespassers on its new territory. With a Screech, it barreled toward them fangs gnashing, in an attempt to drive them off. It worked, with Dawn and Barry breaking for the trees to the east, with the Raticate in hot pursuit. Barry made it first, leaping and grabbing onto a low branch, scrambling into a safe position before pulling Dawn up with adrenaline-fueled strength. After circling the tree a few times, the Raticate, satisfied with the pair's reaction, returned to the school building with a parting hiss.

After a few minutes, Dawn asked, "What are we supposed to do, Barry? We can't get near that place again without that Raticate showing up. We're too late to warn everyone in the school, and we don't have any Pokémon to fight the Rattata off…" She sighed miserably. "This was a mistake, Barry. We should have told a Trainer about this."

Barry was silent for a while, brow furrowed, until suddenly, he slammed his fist against the tree's trunk. "You're right, Dawn, we did make a mistake: we ran away from that Raticate when we should've stood our ground." He glared at the Raticate as it slipped into the besieged school, even as Dawn stared at him. "Barry, that thing's a fully evolved adult Pokémon," she besought. "We can't just chase it off by waving a stick at it." But the manic gleam was returning to his eye.

"Or can we?" he asked, as much to himself as to her. Pulling off a few leafy arms about half an inch thick off of the branch the were sitting on, he passed one to Dawn, who took it only to carefully set it down. "Barry," she said again, a bit of steel in her voice this time, "this isn't going to work. That Raticate is still watching us." And indeed it was: lounging behind the window, it glared at the tree they found shelter in, daring them to come down. "Listen to me, Barry: we can't do anything here. We need to make for the edge of town where everyone evacuated to, so we can find someone who can _actually_ do something. Just, don't do what you're planning and come with me? Please?"

For a moment, Barry seemed to shrink a little, the bluster draining away from him. Dawn felt a rush of relief, even as her heart ached for exposing his vulnerability in such a way. And then he dropped.

"Barry!" she shouted, even as he made his way to the school. Dropping down as well, she raced toward him, as several Rattata broke away from the walls and attacked. To his credit, he managed to knock one of them away preemptively before the rest swarmed past his guard, Tackling and nipping him hard enough to draw blood. "Ow! Get off me, you pests!" he said frantically, shaking them off and striking one of them hard enough to send it flying. It bounced as it landed, finally coming to a stop some ten feet away, where it jumped back up and made for him again, only to be smacked away by Dawn's branch. This time, it scurried away into the forest, and Dawn made her way to Barry, beating off the Rattata as she went. Standing back to back with him, she eyed the Mouse Pokémons' steadily increasing numbers. "Think we can take 'em?"

"I don't think, I know."

"Then let's do it."

The Rattata rushed them but, being as weak as they were, were turned aside, but not without imparting a few scratches and bruises on the pair. It went on for several minutes: the Rattata crushed against them, the teens batted them away with only minor injury, and the process repeated itself. Occasionally a lucky Rattata managed to evade their guard and score a Tackle in a particularly vital spot, but it was beaten back all the same, with the unafflicted holding off the swarm solo until the other was sufficiently recovered. All the same, the injuries piled up on both sides, but when the sunset began in earnest, its soft orange light illuminated only the two would-be heroes, battered, bruised, and sore, but triumphant.

They collapsed on the ground, ecstatic past their fatigue. "Did we… get 'em all?" Barry gasped. Dawn lifted her head to check. The last of them had just slinked its way out of the school and was trundling toward them. "Nope, one more: the Raticate."

Barry groaned as he stood up. "Sure, because Arceus forbid we get bored. You ready, Dawn?"

She clambered to her feet as well, holding her branch in front of her like a sword. "Yep." Together, they rushed the approaching Pokémon, who met their charge undaunted.

The difference between the Raticate and its lesser brethren was clear from the moment they clashed: Raticate, unaffected by Barry first swing, snapped his branch in two with a contemptuous Hyper Fang before swatting him away with a whack of its tail. It then set itself upon him, aiming for his face and managing to sink its fangs into his arm. Barry piercing cry shocked Dawn into action, her branch beating at the Raticate wildly. Releasing Barry's bleeding arm, Raticate let out a Screech, the pain making her lower her guard. It then leapt at Dawn, bringing her down easily and slamming her into the dirt. Pushing her branch against its neck, she managed to keep its head, and thus its powerful jaws, outside of biting range. Letting off for a moment and backing off, Raticate appeared to be catching its breath. Dawn shot back up to her feet and got ready. Raticate growled, and began to glow a bright yellow. After a moment, the glow blinked out, leaving Raticate's eyes glittering fiercely. It rushed her again, fangs clicking together in anticipation. Dawn jabbed her branch at it, even as she backed away, but Raticate simply used Hyper Fang after Hyper Fang, biting off piece after piece and spitting them out, eventually leaving Dawn holding a pathetically small nub of wood. Throwing it at Raticate (who dodged), she broke for the shaky, but still standing Barry, who wordlessly handed her one half of his broken branch.

The two sides stood off: two injured children, one whose arm was dripping blood at a worrying rate, and an as yet uninjured Raticate, whose dark look was summarily ignored. Raticate charged again, making for Barry again, who gestured to it with a closed fist. When Raticate was only a few feet away, Barry revealed his gambit: with a cry of "Pocket Sand!" he flung his hand out, sending the sand directly into Raticate's eyes. With a screech of agony, it dropped back, rubbing at its eyes. "Now!" Barry said, rushing the Raticate, Dawn following suit. The tide turned; far from being the utter beating Raticate gave them earlier, they nonetheless were driving it back. Raticate was still just as fierce an opponent as before Barry's impromptu Sand Attack, and in fact was even more vicious, breaking though Dawn's guard at last and biting down on her exposed calf, fangs sinking down to the bone. She screamed as she fell, Raticate still clamping down on the bone in an attempt to break it, ignoring Barry's frantic swings… until he jammed the broken end of the branch into its eye.

It released Dawn's leg with a Screech, a spray of scarlet flying every which way, and ran off. Barry threw aside the stick and went to her, taking off his shirt and wrapping it around her wound, pressing tightly. "Dawn! DAWN! Look at me! You're gonna be all right, okay? Just hold on!"

Dawn was shaking from shock, her eyes dull and listless and her skin pale. Still, she pressed the wound with him, forcing herself to breath deeply. A sudden Screech alerted them to Raticate, who was glowing with a harsh blue light. It flung its paws forward, and the aura coalesced into an energy ball that flew toward them. Barry dived, shielding her as best he could from the imminent impact, when-

 _DOOM!_

A blaze of blue light illuminated the area, and died out completely. Barry opened his eyes and turned to see a large, orange Pokémon standing in front of them, its paw smoking. Nearby, smoke was rising from a newly created crater. Barry peeked around the Pokémon in time to see the Raticate stagger and fall to the ground in a dead faint. He looked up at the Pokémon, a Dragonite's, face, and gasped. " _Chomper?!_ Then that means…" A Poké Ball flew over his head and hit the Raticate, converting its form to energy and sucking it in. After a few wobbles and a click, it disappeared in a flash of light. A blonde man in a green coat ran over to them. " _D-daddy?!"_ And indeed it was.

Palmer took one look at the dire situation and pulled out another Poké Ball. With a call of "Slowking!" the device opened, releasing the Royal Pokémon. "Slowking, use Heal Pulse!" he ordered the Pokémon, who complied immediately, kneeling beside Dawn and sending a flash of bright pink light into her wound with a wave of its arms, sealing the wound instantly. It then did the same for Barry's arm. Finished, it stood beside Palmer, who was scouting the area for any more signs of enemies. "Seemed to be the only one here," he muttered to himself. "Still, that Final Gambit was well outside the norm for a Raticate. Its father must've been a Primeape. That proves that these aren't a random occurrence gone wrong…"

Suddenly remembering the children behind him, he turned on his heel to face them. "Kids! Are you alright?"

"Yes, Mr. Cedric, we're fine!" Dawn said automatically, standing up and gingerly putting weight on her newly healed leg, which held with barely a flash of pain.

"Dad, what are you doing here? How'd you know where to find us?" Barry asked, still gobsmacked by the sudden appearance of his father.

"Chomper and I were already coming over when we saw an explosion near the hospital. When I landed there, Rick had already dealt with everything there, but he explained that there were a bunch of Rattata led by Raticate chewing through the town. I went to Route 201 to see you all, but a little boy told me you had went to evacuate the people in the school. We arrived in time to stop that Raticate's Final Gambit, but it was a close call. What were you kids thinking?! You were lucky it was _only_ the Raticate; how did you expect to deal with a horde of Rattata along with it? I know kids are reckless, but this has to take the cake!"

"But dad, there _were_ Rattata here, and we fought them all off!" Barry said before Palmer could continue. "And everyone in the school is safe because of that… or, y'know, safer than they would've been." They all jumped at the sound of the schoolhouse door opening, and watched as a host of schoolkids and their teacher exited the building. Though some bore the marks of first aid, they were all more or less healthy. They crowded around the trio, thanking them and otherwise confirming Barry's account. Palmer, getting over his surprise quickly, said, "Come on, let's get you all to the Route. There'll be tents set up by now, so nobody worry. Just follow me." Everyone made their way to the Town entrance, where Barry's and Dawn's mothers were waiting. Hugs were given, tears were shed, and stories were accounted (with the more serious injuries left out, for obvious reasons).

The next month passed in a blur, with injuries treated, repairs made, trauma counselors met with, and a fear of Raticate instilled and subsequently challenged, though not by any means conquered. The two became local legends of a sort for a while, with the attention petering off around a few days before Professor Rowan's selection process, which we will return to…

 **Now**

To Professor Rowan's credit, he fully understood the teens' account of the event. Nodding seriously, he said, "Hmph! Thank you for telling me this. I did not hear about this Rick individual; perhaps I should seek him out for his side of the story. As it is, I commend you for your bravery." The pair's faces lit up, only for worry to strike when he said to himself, "Though I fear such bravery that which is born of recklessness. Their world would surely change if they were to meet Pokémon… Is it right of me to put Trainers such as these on that path…?" He met their gaze again. "You two. At the beginning of the exam, you answered a question which I shall ask in person: do you truly love Pokémon?" On paper, it seemed odd, almost silly, but when voiced by Rowan, the question had a certain weight, an almost solemn quality to it.

"Yes," Dawn said immediately.

"Me, too!" Barry said. "I love Pokémon, too!"

Professor Rowan was silent for a moment, and said, "I will ask you once again. You two. You truly love Pokémon, do you?"

"Oh, come on, not this again!" Barry yelled, drawing a sharp gasp from Dawn and causing Rowan's eyebrows to shoot straight up. "You can ask a hundred times! The answer will never change! We'll both answer a hundred times, we love Pokémon! Right, Dawn?"

"Y-yeah!" Barry's conviction, though almost certainly ruinous, was inspiring nonetheless. Professor Rowan, however, remain impassive.

"…A pair of reckless kids who foolishly try to fight off a horde of Rattata without Pokémon of their own…? It worries me what people like that would attempt _with_ Pokémon."

 _Oh no._

"…Uh… Well, I, uh…" Barry looked at the rug as if a suitable answer was hidden it its pattern. Finally, he burst out, "Well, then forget about me, but give a Pokémon to my friend here! I mean, it was me who went to the school in the first place, Dawn was just looking out for me!"

While Dawn reeled from the weight of Barry's plea, Rowan gave a grunt that sounded suspiciously like approval. "That is quite big of you, young man! Very well, then! I will entrust you two with Pokémon!" The teens froze, but only for a moment, their shouts and whoops of glee bubbling up soon enough. After a while, they calmed down enough to bow and thank the Professor formally.

"Think nothing of it," the Professor said, "and I do so apologize for putting you through that exam. However, I needed to test more than your knowledge of Pokémon. I also needed to test your sincerity, as well as your integrity and fortitude." He made for the door, but stopped and faced them again. "Ah, there is another thing: you must promise me that you will never recklessly endanger yourselves again." The two agreed wholeheartedly, earning them a nod. "Now then, simply follow Roseanne to the other door." Roseanne, right on cue, opened the door and motioned toward them. They rose, bowed once again, and left with her.

* * *

 _And that's over with. Can you believe that took me roughly a week to write? Because I sure can't. Well, next chapter, our heroes will choose a Pokémon to train and battle with. On another note: OH MY ARCEUS that Sun and Moon announcement! Did you see that cover art? Did you see those_ starters?! _They're so flippin' adorable!_

 _*ahem*_

 _In any case, Chapter Five will be dropped sometime next week. Afterward, I feel like that will be all for the time being. After chapter five, I may return to another fanfiction I'm holding, or I may start a new one. Truly, the possibilities are endless. Until then, Follow, Favorite, and Review._


	5. A New Pokémon!

_And here I am doing a last minute edit and upload at 7:30 on a Saturday morning! I_ was _going to drop this chapter in a few hours, but seeing as I spent the last few days marathoning Steven Universe (capping it off with the newest episodes, naturally), I know I'm going sleep straight into the afternoon if I let myself droop even a little. Anyways, enjoy:_

* * *

Chapter Five: A New Pokémon!

Roseanne opened the door, letting sunlight shine in. "Well," she said, "go on through. You'll meet Lucas near the entrance to Lake Verity." The kids stepped through, and the Aide closed the door behind them. Silently, they walked down the road, until they reached Verity Lakefront, where two figures were standing. One was an unfamiliar boy about their age. He wore a navy jacket, white scarf, and a dark red hat, and had a briefcase in his hand. The other boy was, of all people-

"Cyan?" Barry said incredulously.

Cyan nodded, unfazed. "I'm as surprised as you are," he said modestly, "but Professor deemed me fit to receive a Pokémon." He held a collapsed Poké Ball up to the light. "I simply told him why I didn't do the test, and he said, "Fair enough," handed me this Poké Ball, and told me to go with Ms. Roseanne." He shrugged. "He seemed odd but, while I don't necessarily agree with his methods, I will concede that they come from a place of wisdom."

"That's fair enough," the other boy, who had to be Lucas, said, before a sly look passed over his face. "So… what Pokémon did you get?"

Cyan shrugged again. "I didn't check. It seemed rude to do so before everyone else."

Lucas nodded sagely. "Again, fair enough. So, you two," he said, turning to Dawn and Barry, "will you choose a Pokémon, or will you wait for the others to get here?"

"I think I'll just wait," Dawn said.

"Same here!" Barry chimed in, though he couldn't help but stare at the briefcase.

"Excellent," Lucas said. "Let's get our introductions out of the way while we wait: my name is Lucas, and I work as Professor Rowan's assistant. Who are you guys?"

"I'm Cyan. …I don't have much to say beyond that."

"My name's Dawn. I… guess I like karate?"

"I'm Barry, and I'm bored out of my mind already! When are the others coming out?" His outburst earned him a wry look from Dawn. "Not even five minutes passed, Barry; our interview took about ten. Can you at least _try_ to be-"

"Hey, guys!"

"-patient?" Somehow, in a fraction of the time it took for Rowan to approve them, he not only dismissed Ryan and Rocky, but also _approved_ Dan and Vance, who were currently running toward them.

"Yeah, Professor Rowan works _very_ quickly; your interview length was borderline prodigious compared to most everything he does," Lucas explained. "The last pair should be here in few minutes or so, so we may as well wait for them to show up before we continue."

As they waited, further introductions were made by the newcomers, along with queries after the identity of the mystery Pokémon that Lucas stonewalled with a smile. The conversation then drifted to question about Lucas himself, where he revealed that though he had earned his license years ago, he, like them, had yet to obtain a Pokémon. "Obviously, I would use whatever Pokémon we had on hand whenever a situation came up," he clarified, "but I never really had a Pokémon of my own. Not that it'd do me much good. I'd never have enough time to invest any worthwhile training into it." That last part held a faint air of bitterness, veering the conversation to less dodgy waters. After some time, two people were seen making their way toward them, one soon identified as Jessica, and the other as…

"Wait, is that Professor Rowan?" and murmurs of the like were passed among the group. Indeed, when the two (and only the two!) joined the rest of them, Johnson's absence was conspicuous enough for Rowan to address: "As you all have doubtless noticed, Mr. Gray is not with us. I shall not go into specifics, but suffice to say he did not measure up to my other candidate." The murmurs began anew, with Lucas finally saying, "You have _another_ candidate? But you haven't said anything about them! Who is it?"

Rowan let out a huff of annoyance. "Well, it would have to be you, wouldn't it?"

Lucas froze, hardly daring to believe it. "S-sir? You mean…"

"Lucas. For the past six months, you have helped care for those six Pokémon as well as any Breeder. You have been invaluable to this experiment thus far, and will be for the foreseeable future. Now then, everyone!" He held out his hand and Lucas, stunned though he was, handed him the briefcase. "This case contains six Poké Balls," he continued, opening the briefcase and revealing the Balls. "Upon each Ball there is a label noting the name of the Pokémon inside it. Decide amongst yourselves the order in which you select a Pokémon. Quickly now!"

There was a bit of a scramble, as everyone, though excited to no end at the thought of having the coveted Poké Ball in their hands at long last, was wary of potential type disadvantages to their potential rival (why they were even thinking about rivals at that moment is another question entirely, and certainly not one this story has the authority or knowledge to answer satisfactorily). In the end, Dawn was selected to go first. Standing in front of Rowan, she silently read the names off the Poké Balls: _Magnemite, the Magnet Pokémon;_ _Gible, the Land Shark Pokémon;_ _S_ _norunt, the Snow Hat_ _Pokémon; Turtwig, the Tiny Leaf Pokémon; Chimchar, the Chimp Pokémon; Piplup, the Penguin Pokémon._

 _Which one do I choose?_ Dawn had never been presented with such an important choice (more _dire_ , certainly, but important? Obviously not). Not only had she never heard of these Pokémon before, she didn't know what each one was like individually; she could potentially pick one that would hate her unconditionally or ignore her commands in battle. Sensing the growing impatience of her peers, she made a snap decision and grabbed the Poké Ball marked _Chimchar_. "I choose you, Chimchar!" she said, holding the Ball out in front of her. With its trademark sound, the Ball opened and released a beam of white energy, which coalesced into a definite shape before revealing a small, orange-and-white Pokémon with a swirl pattern on its chest, a tuft of hair on its head like a small flame, and an actual flame on its rear.

It blinked in surprise and looked around, obviously not expecting to be let out, before catching sight of Dawn with its Poké Ball. Its blue eyes staring into her own inquisitively, as if searching for something. Dawn smiled reassuringly, hoping that the Pokémon would find what is was looking for. Apparently satisfied by what it had seen, Chimchar let out a cry of approval and leapt into her arms. Rebalancing herself, she wrapped her arms around it with a squeal of delight and spun around, with Chimchar laughing alongside her. After a while she had to set her new friend and partner down, not only because they were both dizzy, but also because she noticed that the sleeves of her coat were beginning to smolder. "Oh crease, oh no! Hot, hot, hot!" she cried, running to a snowdrift and plunging her hands inside. Of course, in the excitement of these recent development, she failed to notice that everyone had already picked a Pokémon by the time she returned, with Barry having chosen Piplup, Jessica Magnemite, Vance Gible, Dan Snorunt, and Lucas Turtwig. Cyan had even opened his Poké Ball, revealing a bright pink Sneasel, its cheery yellow ear feather's length denoting it as male. _Note to self, find out what gender Chimchar is._

"Good, good!" Professor Rowan said, noting their choices on a notepad. "Now remember everyone, the Pokémon you have been entrusted with are unfamiliar with the world. In that regard, they are much like all of you. As fellow newcomers to the world, I hope you'll do well together. Now, take some time to familiarize yourselves with your Pokémon. The experiment proper begins in a few days; you will receive an email stating when. When the day arrives, come to my lab in Sandgem Town, where I shall explain your role in full. Until then, farewell." With a final wave, he walked back up the Route, with Lucas following in short order.

"I… guess that's it, then," Dan said, tossing his Snorunt's Poké Ball back and forth between them. "We got our Pokémon, the experiment begins in a couple of days… so what do we do now?"

"I think it's obvious to everyone. Well, everyone except you, clearly," Jessica said with a small grin.

"Wha- is that supposed to be funny?!" Dan said, abandoning his game of catch to face the combative Jessica and earning a Poké Ball to the back of the head for his trouble.

"It _is_ obvious, though," Barry said uncharacteristically slowly, his growing excitement evident.

"We _do_ have Pokémon now…" Vance said contemplatively, snatching his finger away from the offending Gible's mouth.

"Meaning we are officially Trainers," Cyan said, interest properly piqued.

"And what do Trainer do best?" Dawn was bouncing on the balls of her feet, and Chimchar was jumping up and down, eager for the inevitable answer, which everyone provided at once:

"BATTLE!"

* * *

 _And there it is. The end of the story for now. As I said, I'm just going to go back to my existing story for a while, but I'll be back to this soon enough, so no need to worry! Thanks for the support so far, readers. Follow, Favorite, and Review, and as always, thanks for reading. Till later._


	6. The First Battle!

_Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I'm back. What, did you think I was going to drop off the face of the Earth with a cliffhanger needing to be addressed? At least have_ some _faith in me. Well, this is going to be the_ real _end of the beginning… of the beginning. With that, enjoy._

* * *

Chapter Six: The First Battle!

The Trainers paired off immediately, with Dawn and Barry naturally facing off against each other. "All right, let's go, Piplup!" he said with a wide grin on his face, and Piplup, perhaps picking up his manic energy, leapt to the fore with a cry and a strongman pose. Undaunted by the "fearsome" sight, Dawn only said, "Okay, Chimchar, spotlight!" Bounding in on all fours, Chimchar stopped in front of Piplup and began Scratching at the air between them to intimidate the Penguin Pokémon, who showed exactly how impressed it was by the display by yawning dismissively.

 _This is it! My first battle and, I hope, the first of many._ Dawn wasn't quite sure what form her path would take or where it would lead her, but she knew that it all began here. Without further ado, she kicked things off: "Chimchar, use Scratch!" Chimchar yowled his understanding and leapt forward, its Scratch attack catching Barry's Piplup lengthwise on its flipper. Piplup jumped back with a yelp of pain, shaking its other flipper in anger. "Don't sweat it, Piplup!" Barry called. "Just use Growl!" Piplup, drawing in a deep breath, let out a startlingly aggressive Growl, jarring Chimchar's focus and making it flinch away in shock.

"Don't let up, Chimchar! Just keep Scratching!" Dawn said, unsure of any more moves Chimchar might have had, and not wishing to risk injury experimenting. Chimchar unleashed a string of Scratches, but, due to Piplup's constant Growls and accompanied evil looks, was hitting the defending Pokémon with much weaker attacks than before. Finally, Barry ordered for Piplup to attack, which it complied by laying a Pound across Chimchar's face, knocking the Fire-type back.

"Oh no! Um, don't be discouraged, Chimchar!" Dawn called, flustered but encouraging. "Um… do you know any other moves?"

Turning back to Piplup, Chimchar's eyes flashed, making Piplup start in fear. "Oh, you have Leer, then! Okay, Chimchar, use Leer again, and then use Scratch!" Chimchar Leered again, only for Piplup to rush it with another Pound. Striking it in the face again, Piplup chirped triumphantly, only to squeak in fear as Chimchar grabbed its flipper in one of its paws. Chimchar then began Scratching at its torso and face with short, methodical swipes, even as it was pummeled by Piplup's frantic but useless swings. Ultimately, the careful assault proved more effective, as Piplup finally gave in and tapped Chimchar's shoulder, signaling its surrender. Releasing the defeated Pokémon, Chimchar leapt into Dawn open arms with a howl of delight, even as Piplup waddled back to Barry with an over-dramatic cry of anguish. "Wait, hold on! We ended up losing?!" Barry said, astonished.

Dawn laughed out loud, exhilarated by the win. "Yep! Now fork it over, loser!"

Barry grumbled under his breath good-naturedly; he had a lot of fun, even though he ended up losing. Pulling a few coins out of his pocket, he handed it over to her saying, "Here's your blood money, _wiener_. Now let's get going! I wanna show this little guy off to my mom! See ya later, Dawn!" He zoomed off before Dawn could get out, "But what about the… others…" With a shrug, she adjusted Chimchar to prevent any more damage to her clothes and watched the others' battles. Jessica and Dan's battle concluded first, with Snorunt's Confused status making it run off a ledge, knocking itself out by hitting the ground headfirst. But even as Jessica gloated, Cyan and Vance's battle was reaching its climax.

Sneasel, though stronger than the smaller Gible, had a significant handicap: the Sand Attack Gible had thrown into the Sharp Claw Pokémon's eyes earlier. Even so, the battle was anything but one-sided, its intensity making even their Trainers silent save for the occasional command. Eventually, though, the Sand Attack cost Sneasel the win, as the Scratches missed began to outnumber the ones that connected. Paired with the fact that Gible simply had a more effective attack, Sneasel's defeat was more or less inevitable. Recalling its prone form, Cyan nodded at the Ball, gave Vance a few coins, and left for town with a nod to them all. With all said and done, they did the same, making their way home.

* * *

In the forest, two shadowy figures watched the Trainers as they walked away.

"Well, Mr. B, it seems that they are our chosen."

"At least, three of them are, Mr. J. How do we find out which?"

"We simply need to wait. Very specific things are to be done by the chosen; if we observe them long enough, they will reveal themselves to us."

"Fair enough. Shall we go and prepare now?"

"Of course." One took the other's hand, and with a sharp _crack_ , they vanished.

* * *

 _Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand_ now _I'm done. I sincerely hope my battle scenes are up to par with those of other, comparable stories on this site. I also hope that my story has planted the seeds of mystery deep enough in your minds to sprout questions abound. So, with that, Follow, Favorite, and Review. And, as always, thanks for reading._


	7. Training Daze!

_Ah, Pokémonth! That magical time of year where we celebrate all things Pokémon! I say all this because, in my near all-encompassing ennui, I actually forgot until now. So, in celebration and penance, I'll continue updating this story until the month is over, Wizard101 be damned! So, without further ado, this:_

* * *

Chapter Seven: Training Daze!

 _Twinleaf Town, September 13th, Evening_

After a celebratory dinner, Dawn followed her mom to the living room with a dozy Chimchar in her arms. "Well, isn't he the most adorable thing?" she said with an easy smile, sitting down on the couch. Dawn joined her, and lay Chimchar between them, who yawned long and loud before curling up, the flame on his rear disappearing as he drifted off. "So," she continued, "when do you have to go to Professor Rowan's Lab?"

"I don't know yet," Dawn said, scratching behind her Pokémon's ears affectionately. "Professor Rowan did say that he would send an email, but I'm not sure when that will arrive, either."

Johanna nodded. "Well, be sure to check your PC everyday."

"Of course."

"Do you have any plans for what you're going to do until then?"

"Well, I suppose I'm just going to train in Route 201."

"Good to know," Johanna said, clapping her hands together. "That means it's the perfect time for this!" She pulled out a long shoebox from under the couch. "Here you go, try them on!" Dawn opened the box and pulled out a pair of boots much like her own, except somewhat lighter and much more flexible. "They're Running Boots," her mom explained, taking the now empty box. "I know sneakers wouldn't be much of an improvement over what you wear now, given the weather, but the life of a Trainer is filled with situations where you need to get up and go, and at a lot faster than a walk. Do you like 'em?" Dawn had slipped on the boots, and was taking a few experimental steps with them. Jumping up and down, she finally said, "These are great, mom, thanks!"

"No problem, kiddo. Well, it's about time for bed. Take Chimchar with you and wash up."

"'Kay, good night!"

 _Route 201, September 16th, Afternoon_

"Come on, Chimchar, at least try to act serious!" Dawn exclaimed, frustrated at the Chimp Pokémon's antics. With a final whoop, he hopped down from the ledge and faced the Starly, finally getting serious. Dawn let out a sigh of relief; like the day before, they had woken up and left for the Route only a little after daybreak, in order to make the most of the time they had before Professor Rowan's briefing. For the first few hours, it was much like yesterday: nonstop combat with the wild Pokémon, stopping only for lunch and a nap at home. After they came back, however, Dawn had to address a problem she had hoped they would face later rather than sooner: they had simply outgrown the available Pokémon. Growing increasingly bored as the hours wore on, and sorely for want of a challenge, Chimchar, taking inspiration from the stories Dawn had regaled him with about karate class, began testing out different karate moves for himself, flipping his helpless opponents over his shoulder or karate chopping them in vulnerable areas, earning himself bumps and bruises with each failed maneuver. Hopefully, he could slog through the coming battles, at least until the sun started to set, at which point they would head home. Those hopes were promptly dashed when Chimchar turned around and shook his rear at the affronted Starly, who gave a sharp chirp and raced after him.

"Are you kidding me, Chimchar?!" Dawn shouted after him, as he climbed up a tree and, after an exaggerated pose reminiscent of Barry's Piplup, dived off of his branch and body slammed the Starly into the dirt. Hearing the pained cries of both Pokémon, Dawn rushed over, Potion at the ready as she knelt down. Pulling Chimchar off the unconscious bird, she quickly sprayed them both with the medicine. Recalling the still groaning Chimchar, she made her way home, ignoring the shrill tweets of the Starly.

 _Berlitz Home, Evening_

"I just don't know what to do, mom," Dawn said, holding her mug of tea with both hands. "He's already stronger than any of the wild Pokémon on the Route, but I just don't think it's safe going any farther. But now he's getting bored, and he's getting hurt anyway. What do you think I should do?" No matter what the situation, Johanna Berlitz was always a font of helpful advice for her daughter. She cocked an eyebrow at the chastened Chimchar between them, who looked down in embarrassment; being a source of worry for his new Trainer was definitely unintentional.

"Well, if Chimchar liked karate enough to try it out in battle, maybe he'd like to learn it for real from the source."

"What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ take Chimchar with you to your karate class tomorrow. It'll be fun! He'll have a safe environment to practice, and he'll have the teacher's Pokémon to train with so he won't get bored!"

 _Well, he certainly won't be able to beat Dasher_ , Dawn thought privately, thinking back to the time the aged Hitmonlee flash kicked his Trainer through a door when the former rocker mistimed a superman punch. "But Chimchar isn't a Fighting type. There isn't much good doing all of this when I should be helping him with his Ember attack." But her mother was wagging a finger and tutting in a joking manner.

"Tsk, tsk, Dawn, you never remember what I tell you about properly researching the Pokémon you're training."

"Only because you never told me in the first place!"

"Clearly, you just can't remember. In any case, what you would know if you had is that Chimchar evolves into Monferno, a Fire-Fighting type. So him learning a form and maybe a few moves now will pay off in the short _and_ long term."

Dawn was pleasantly surprised by the news. "That's great, mom!" she said, as Chimchar gave a chirp of approval. "With any luck, he'll learn all sorts of moves from Dasher! I just want us to get Ember down before then. Is that all right with you, buddy?" Chimchar's chirp and accompanying grin sealed the deal. "Great! Then let's get to bed now; we've got a full day ahead of us. Night, mom!"

"Sleep well, hun."

 _Route 201, September 17th, Morning_

"Dawn, Dawn, Dawn!" "Sno, Snorunt!"

She jumped with a small shriek, shocked out of her stare-down with a particularly bold Bidoof, who nevertheless bolted at the combined calls of Dan and his Snorunt. She turned to face the two angrily. "Dan!" she yelled fiercely, stopping him in his tracks, Snorunt running into him and falling on its back.

"Jeez, why are you so mad?" Dan asked obliviously.

"I was in the middle of catching a Pokémon, you ditz!"

"Don't call me a ditz, you- wait, catching a Pokémon? You have Poké Balls?"

"I… wait…" _I… don't have any Poké Balls._ Inside her head, Dawn performed a classic facepalm. In reality, she only said, "I… was going to improvise."

"And you call _me_ a ditz?!"

"Whatever! What do you want, anyway?"

"Me and Snorunt have dedicated ourselves to training, and now, we're ready! Dawn, I challenge you to a Pokémon Battle!"

"…"

"…What?"

"Nothing, it's just that… Snorunt's… a Snorunt."

"Type match ups aside, we have the edge! We have trained body and soul for longer than you can imagine!"

"Dan, it's been like a day."

"We've trained _harder_ than you can imagine, then!" Snorunt certainly looked fiercer, glaring at any wild Pokémon that had the nerve to approach the Trainers. Even Chimchar, who had quickly grown bored with batting around the much weaker natives, looked excited at the prospect of its challenge.

"Look, Dan, Chimchar's a _Fire_ -type Pokémon. Aren't you worried about that at all?"

Dan smoothed back his bangs, a smug grin on his face. "You know, Dawn, I was, until I remembered an extremely valuable tidbit: Fire Pokémon learn moves about as fast as any other type, but Fire-type moves specifically take a while. By facing your Chimchar as early in its development as we are, we're sure to win!"

Dawn looked at him for a second. "Do you really think telling me your master plan was a smart move?"

"Doesn't matter either way: you've already been challenged, so you can't walk away now!"

"That's more of a tradition than an actual rule, but fine. Chimchar, spotlight!" With an excited yowl, he scampered between the two Trainers, eyes focused on his opponent.

Dan swept his bangs back again and said, "Then let's do it! Snorunt, use Powder Snow!" Snorunt blew out a chilling gust of snow crystals, which slapped into Chimchar painfully. "Ah, ah, ah!" he shouted, rubbing at his stinging face, not hearing Dawn's order for a Leer. "We've got him now, Snorunt!" Dan said, astounded; not even he expected their "strategy" to work as well as it did. "Powder Snow again!" The Snow Hat Pokémon did so, this time dumping enough to completely cover the Fire-type in snow.

"Chimchar, are you okay? Chimchar!" A brief rumble in the new snowdrift assured Dawn of his safety. "Good! Break out and use Ember!" Dan's cry of "WHA-A-AT!?" was nearly lost in the sound of Chimchar's screech as he burst out of the snow pile and hawked a smoldering Ember at the shocked Snorunt, who cried out when the attack struck it between the eyes. Reeling back, it overbalanced and fell to the ground, wriggling in pain.

"Snorunt!" Dan called out in fear. Snorunt stilled at the sound of his voice, and hopped to its feet, eyes half-closed and wincing. "A-all right, you've got this, buddy! Use Double Team!" Dan wasn't eager to see if Snorunt could take another Ember, and changed his approach accordingly. Still, Dawn wasn't worried, even as Snorunt superspeed-ed illusory copies of itself. "It's all good, Chimchar, just keep using Ember!" He flashed her a wicked grin and complied, shooting every "Snorunt" in sight. "Keep using Double Team!" Dan shouted, his former confidence long gone. On it went, with every copy Chimchar eliminated being replaced immediately, with no real progress being done on either side. Snorunt gave out first, slowing to a halt and plopping on the ground, too exhausted to move. Fortunately for the Ice-type, Chimchar's fiery assault ceased shortly after, his internal fire sac depleted. With a yawn, he stretched out on the ground and, his rear flame going out, fell asleep.

Dawn spoke first: "I… guess it's a draw?"

Dan nodded, bemused. "I guess so." He stuck out his Poké Ball. "Snorunt, return!" A red beam of light shot out of the capsule and hit the now dozing Pokémon, converting its form to energy and recalling it. Collapsing the Ball and placing it back in his belt, he said, "well, thanks for the battle, anyway. I at least learned that I need to really work on my strategy to make it effective; for starters, not basing it entirely off a random fact from a Snapple."

"That would be best," Dawn said distractedly, fishing out her own Poké Ball and pointing it at her sleeping Pokémon. "Return!" Chimchar went back into the Poké Ball instantly. Tucking it away, she said, "Well, since you're here, you might as well come home with us; mom usually makes a huge salad for lunch, so there'd be more than enough for everyone. Afterward we can head to the dojo."

"Sweet, I'm starving! I thought I could inspire Snorunt in our training by not eating this entire time. I think it's working, but I'm about ready to pass out, especially after our battle."

"And Rowan said _we_ were reckless…"

"What?"

"What about what?"

"Didn't you say something?"

"If I did, wouldn't I know about it? Come on, let's go."

* * *

 _And here we are, the end of chapter seven! This story is, at the time of writing, sitting pretty at 185 views from 79 visitors in this month alone. That is, for lack of a better word, amazing. Thank you so much, everyone!_

 _However, the powers that be decreed that work and school both put a damper on my writing, so I have to go on hiatus. Sorry._

 _Well, with all that said, I guess all there is to say is Follow, Favorite, and Review and, as always, thanks for reading. Until next time._


	8. Lakefront Blues!

_And it is here we see the Affable Stranger posting a rare upload to his story, which is unfortunately still in an at least partial hiatus. All we can do, audience, is read and possibly enjoy._

* * *

Chapter Eight: Lakefront Blues!

 _Twinleaf Town, September 20th, Afternoon_

In Kickin' Rick's Rockin' Karate Dojo, there was a certain feeling in the air. It was a feeling the students knew well: the very essence of effort and competition pervaded the squat two-roomed building, to the point where a majority of the curious few who entered for the first time almost immediately made their escape, while the remainder instantly signed up for one of the daily classes. For the children who lived in the general area, it wasn't a question of if you took classes there or not, but rather which session you took, and what color belt you wore. To them, not having been a pupil was on par with not going on a Pokémon journey in your youth: it simply wasn't _not_ done. All this is important because for the past few days, Dawn and Chimchar have been doing their best to sway the unusually firm Rick from his first ruling: that Chimchar simply could not train with his Hitmonlee, Dasher.

Of course, this made sense: Dasher was a master of his craft, and his craft was kicking opponents in the face until they stopped moving. For him and the young, inexperienced Chimchar to have an honest-to-Arceus battle would be a complete disaster, to put it lightly. Which was why Dawn had asked Rick to facilitate a simple training session between the two Pokémon. By her logic, it was a solid plan: with Rick keeping the Pokémon in check, Dasher would spar with the eager Chimchar, gauging the younger Pokémon's skill level and, if he found him worthy, teaching him an appropriate Fighting-type move. And yet, Dawn's master, the man who taught her all she knew of not only martial arts and discipline, but also spontaneous, outrageous (but still legal!) action, was hesitant.

"Well, Dawn, that's, er, quite the proposition, but you're gonna have to ask Dasher yourself, an' more than likely, he'll think it too daft to bother with." Rick shrugged as he said this, taking the sting off his words. Still, Chimchar looked down, obviously disappointed at the rejection.

"But Sensei," Dawn cried, calling the instructor by his seldom used title, "Chimchar's been working really hard these past few days! If Dasher could just see what he could do, I just know he'll take him on as a pupil!" But Rick only shook his head, his mind made up.

"Look, Berlitz, I know how far Chimchar's come these last few days; I've overseen his progress, after all. But Dasher… Dasher is complicated. It happens sometimes when Pokémon get older; hell, when people get older, too. It's just too much of a risk for a reward you aren't even sure is coming your way. Sorry, duckies." He stood up from his mat and went into his office, leaving Dawn to fume and Chimchar to sulk.

 _Route 201, Afternoon_

"Can you believe that? He wouldn't even consider it! He just said that Dasher was just too dangerous!"

Barry fiddled with his bandaged hand, the result of Gible's response to his victory dance when he defeated Vance the day before. "What? He's supposed to be Dasher's Trainer, last time I checked. Can't he just tell him to chill out?"

"All he said was that Dasher was "complicated"," Dawn replied. "As if! Ember!" Chimchar did so, hitting a pair of Starly. They had been at it for over an hour, taking potshots at the wild Pokémon of the Route, so by that time there weren't many left that would approach the angered duo.

"Hey! Heeeeeey!" To Dawn and Barry's surprise, Jessica was striding toward them, with Cyan in tow. "Berlitz! Cedric!" she called out to them, using their last names like she often did.

"Slifer," they said in unison, with Barry continuing, "Oh, hey Cyan!" who greeted him in turn. "To make things brief, Slifer had a proposition for all of us."

"Ashur's right," she said brightly, her eyes gleaming. "You see, I had just lost against Marisol when—"

"Hold on, Marisol's got a Pokémon now? How?" Barry asked, lost.

"I think her dad gave it to her or something," Slifer replied, and was taken aback by the reaction her offhanded answer elicited from her audience.

"I don't believe you."

"I _can't_ believe you."

"Her dad used to be a Gym Leader, right?"

"I… wouldn't know," was her answer for the blanching Barry, who failed to be calmed by this bit of non-information.

"Yeah, he used to run the Hearthome Gym before Fantina. Mom used to live in Hearthome, so she saw him around all the time."

"Well, that'd cinch it."

"I heard horror stories about Trainers who tried to earn a badge from him, only to lose so badly they gave up training forever," Cyan said, his neutral demeanor disrupted by the troubling news. His eyes narrowed accusingly. "You told me that you lost the battle, not that it was because of a Pokémon like that."

"Quit being a ninny, Ashur," she huffed.

Dawn chimed in, "Well at least tell me it was _you_ that challenged her, and not the other way around."

"No, _she_ challenged _me_ , and she said she beat Hibiki an hour before. Why?" She was answered by a chorus of curses.

"So we have a prideful, recently humiliated Trainer with a vastly overpowered Pokémon who is probably seeking out all of the winners of the competition," Cyan summed up with his eyes closed.

"Whatever! We can take her on no sweat!" Barry said, and with a flash from his belted Poké Ball, Piplup was right beside him with his chest puffed out, peeping in agreement.

"I'm completely screwed," Dawn intoned dully. "She'll beat me into the ground, and she'll never let me live it down…"

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad. What type was his Gym, anyway?"

"Flying," the other three said together, causing Jessica to snort derisively.

"Yeah, that makes sense; Marisol pulled out some sort of bluebird/cloud thing and I thought "it is just way too easy a win" and wouldn't you know it, I was absolutely right. ThunderShock barely did anything, and SonicBoom was almost as bad. In the end, all she had to do was order a few Take Downs, and that was it. It turned out it was a _Dragon_ /Flying type, not Water like I thought. Let me tell you, I was so mad I could spit when she told me that." She shook her head, as if to dispel the memory. "Anyway, that's not important. What _is_ important is that that was the last battle I had today, because I just beat Dan, Vance, _and_ Ashur in short order prior to her showing up, and I'm ready for something a little more extreme."

"So you wanted us all to have a Double Battle," Dawn guessed, earning a grin from the other girl.

"Right right!" she said brightly. "So, you ready for this?"

"Whatever," Dawn said, pulling out Chimchar's Poké Ball. With a sigh, Cyan sent out his Sneasel, who unsheathed his claws in anticipation.

"Uh, _no_." Everyone looked at Barry, his answer surprising given his enthusiasm for battling; the past week had seen him battle nearly every Trainer in town, with only some of the battles ending in a spectacular loss.

"What do you mean, "no"?" Jessica asked, hands on her hips.

"I mean, "no, cuz we've all got something better to do", Slifer!"

"We do?" Dawn asked, perplexed.

"Yeah, we do! I wanted us all to go out to the Lake today."

"Barry, as much as we all enjoy seeing whether you or Dan can stay underwater the longest, don't you think this is just a _eensie_ bit more useful?" Jessica asked testily, unhappy with Barry's rejection of her idea.

"Look, I had the idea for a while now," he said in a rush, wanting to win her over. "I wanted us to thank Professor Rowan for the Pokémon he gave us, so I had a great idea-"

"We are going to thank him," Jessica interjected rudely, "by doing his errand."

Barry shook his head. "That's just why we have our Pokémon in the first place. That's not thanks, that's just work. So I had the idea to go to the Lake to catch the Pokémon that lives there. Afterward, we present that Pokémon to the Professor, so he'll see that we're thankful for the opportunity."

Dawn was weighing her options when Cyan said, "I think that's a great idea, actually. I would also like to posit we do it to reaffirm the Professor's faith in our abilities as Trainers." Slifer stopped her automatic retort, seeing the older boy's logic.

Glad to see his idea taking root in the others' minds, Barry turned to Dawn. "So what do you think, Dawn?"

"Sure, if the four of us did it together, I think we would have a fighting chance to catch it."

"Of course," Cyan said, "the key word being "four"." They all turned to the still visibly irritated Slifer, who only flashed a glare at Cyan, who quickly looked away.

"Come on Slifer," Barry pleaded, Piplup chirping the same, "we can't do this without you!" Dawn followed that with, "The Lake Pokémon's probably a Water Type. Your Magnemite is the best choice for a main attacker. You're crucial to the plan's success!" Slifer perked up a bit, her pride soothed. Adjusting her glasses, she began walking east, turning around only to say, "Well, what are you all standing around for? We've got a Pokémon to catch!"

* * *

By the time they made it to Verity Lakefront, the sun was already low in the sky, washing the Trainers' surroundings in reds and golds. Slifer lifted up her glasses to squint at the underbrush. "Okay everyone, here's the plan: the Pokémon we're here for is called "The Being of Emotion". Supposedly, it has dominion over sorrow and joy, and has some evidence pointing to it being either a Water type, a Psychic type, or even both. As such, The main attackers will be my Magnemite and Ashur's Sneasel. Berlitz and Cedric will act as support and backup, as well as deal with any cronies this Pokémon may bring up with it. Now, how do we get it out of the wa…ter… who's that?"

They all looked to where she was pointing, to see a blue-haired man in a bizarre gray outfit standing at the shore, his gaze leveled at the rocky island in the middle of the lake. In unspoken agreement, they all advanced silently, getting close enough to hear, "…The flowing Time… the expanding Space… I will make it all mine one day…" He rolled his neck, the cracks making them wince. "Cyrus is my name. Remember it. Until then, sleep while you can, Pokémon of the lake bed…" With that, he turned on his heel and walked toward them, giving no sign of surprise (or any emotion, for that matter) at their presence. Stopping just short of them, he said, "Allow me to pass. Step aside." Jostling each other and nearly falling into the lake, they made a path for the mysterious man, who left without another word.

"That man was…" Cyan paused, trying to find the right word.

"Weird," Barry completed. "But whatever! We've gotta catch that Pokémon! Let's do it!"

"Kyauuun!" Everyone froze as the call of a Pokémon they had never heard before rang across the area. Barry was the first to move, running ahead to try and catch a glimpse of the caller. "Did you all hear that?! That was the legendary Pokémon's cry, I know it! Let's catch it!" He darted forward, only to stop short as if shocked, and ran back to them. "What's wrong, Barry?" Dawn asked, concerned.

Barry shook his head. "I can't believe it! How could we forget!?"

"Forget what?" Cyan asked, even as the answer became clear to Dawn, who groaned aloud.

"You guys don't have anything on you either, right?"

"What the heck are you talking about?" Slifer sniped, bemused.

"I'm talking Poké Balls! You know, P-O-K-accented E Balls!" It dawned on the remaining pair that, indeed, they forgot the single most important tool of the average Trainer.

"Soooo…" Cyan was at a loss for anything to say.

" _So,_ we wasted our time coming here," Slifer spat, fuming again. She began to storm off, only to crash into Dan, who cried out as he fell. "Gow-ow-ow! Why'd you do that?!"

"Don't get in my way then, Hibiki!" Even after all this time, Slifer's vitriol against Dan never failed to amaze Dawn.

"What are you all doing here anyway?"

"Your mom!" And with that, she stalked off. Unfazed by the retort, he snorted and asked, "Okay, so what were you guys doing here, anyway?"

Barry rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. "Well, you know, just…"

"We were having a double Battle by the lake, when this stranger came and challenged us four-on-one," Cyan said, thinking fast.

"We got creamed in seconds," Dawn added. "Jessica got it the worst."

"Good," Dan said with a nod. "She needed to be knocked down a peg. I'm not even gonna tell her the news."

"What happened?" Dawn asked, watching him quiver with excitement.

"Rowan sent the email! We meet tomorrow at nine!"

"WHAT?!" everyone yelled at once. No further prompting required, they raced for home and their PCs, eager for details.

* * *

 _And with that, Favorite, Follow, and Review, and, as always, thanks for reading._


	9. A Night Time Chat

_Oh my vaguely defined PokéGods, I almost forgot that today (the 29th of July) was this story's Three Month-aversary! Hooray! Enjoy this, and a few more chapters that I'll post throughout the next month or so._

* * *

Chapter Nine: A Night Time Chat

 _An impassible wave of Rattata crashed into her, only barely turned aside by her humble stick. But she knew she could do it; she could weather any storm as long as Barry was beside her. But where was he? As she beat back another pack of the rat-like creatures, she finally caught sight of him some ways away, squaring off against the Raticate. He rushed it, only to be knocked down by by a swing of its tail. It leapt on top of him, fangs gleaming a hideous red. She tried to shout, tried to intervene, but a sea of Rattata had formed between them, preventing her from coming any closer. She could only watch in silent horror as the Raticate bent down and snapped its jaws closed. But instead of on Barry, all of a sudden it was on her, tearing through the flesh of her leg like paper. In moments, both of her legs were gone, and in a few moments more, so were her arms. She could only watch, defenseless, as the Raticate came closer, its dripping fangs reflecting the distorted image of her fear-stricken face before it lunged-_

"AAAAAAAAA-" Dawn stifled the scream before she could wake her mother. A familiar _FWOOOSH!_ , however, told her that she inadvertently awoken someone else. "H-hey, Chimchar," she said, trying to soothe the Fire Type's worries. "It was just a bad dream; there's n-no need to worry." Chimchar wasn't convinced, and insisted on jumping into bed with her. With a sigh, she adjusted him to avoid his flames and said, "Really, Chimchar, it's all right. It's over now, so it doesn't matter anymore." His liquid eyes pored deep into hers, and she her will crumbled enough for her to say, "Okay, do you really want to know?" The Pokémon's chirrup were at odds with the yawn that came immediately afterward. Still, he stared at her intently, willing her to continue. "Fine, fine, but I'm not a great storyteller." She sat up and laid the Chimp Pokémon across her lap.

 _How do I even begin?_ "You see, a month ago, a bunch of Rattata attacked our town. Everyone was told to leave, but Barry and I went to warn people in the school." She shivered involuntarily, but drawing strength from Chimchar's heat, she continued, "We were too late. The Rattata were already chewing their way into the school, and there was a Raticate with them. It took a long time, but the two of us beat off the Rattata, alone even!" She couldn't help but feel some pride at their feat. "But fighting the Raticate was… pretty much impossible." She held the little Fire Type closer to her chest, warding off the crushing feelings of fear and worthlessness that were absent from her heart since she first saw him battle. Shaking her head to clear it, she did her best to finish the tale: "It brought us down so easily, I'm surprised it didn't fall asleep from boredom." She chuckled humorlessly. "It certainly wouldn't have been any easier for us. It took Barry throwing sand in its eyes for us to have a fighting chance, and even then it nearly tore off my leg." Chimchar stiffened under her fingers, but was soothed by her slow, even strokes through his fur. "Shh, it's okay, it's okay, I'm fine now. Barry's dad, Palmer, saved us, so everything's okay." But it _wasn't_ okay, and they both knew it; even as she said it, she began to shudder at the memory of Raticate shredding skin and muscle, and her stomach turned remembering the impossible pain she went through. Breathing deeply, she got her nausea under control. _Damn it! Why is this affecting me so much? Barry got hurt, too, but this doesn't seem to bother_ him _as much, if at all. Is it me? Am I_ _just…_ _weak_?

Chimchar, perhaps sensing the turmoil in his Trainer's mind, stood up and held her face between his hands and hooted meaningfully. Dawn, understandably confused, did her best to decipher her Pokémon's message. "Are… are you saying I shouldn't be down? That a Raticate would be a lot for even you to handle, so I should feel proud that I did what I did?" _I feel like an NPC in a_ Mystery Dungeon _game!_ He chirruped approvingly, though, so she supposed she was doing something right. "I'm sorry, Chimchar, but I can't help how I feel…" _But then, that's not fair to him, is it?_ Plus, she knew how she felt when the two of them battled. She was almost an entirely different person, a heretofore dormant confidence infusing her very core. "But… if I am weak, Chimchar, I believe training with you will make me strong. Together, we'll both become stronger than anything that thinks it can step all over us." Understanding the weight of Dawn's proclamation, Chimchar nodded seriously, before letting loose another tiny yawn that made her giggle. "Okay Sleepyhead, I won't keep you up any longer. Besides, we've got a busy day tomorrow." She kissed his forehead.

"Sleep well, because tomorrow is the day our story truly begins."

* * *

 _This chapter was packed with meaning, eh? But it wasalso, unfortunately, short. Sorry about that, but again, the chapters are written as they're written. If I try to stretch the events out unnecessarily to reach an arbitrary word count, then I might degrade the quality of the story. ...However, I will try to write a bit more as time goes. For now, Follow, Favorite, and Review, and, as always, thanks for reading._


	10. Mission! Start!

_(Quick Edit: Ignore the Chapter Title the site says. There's apparently a Character limit for some ridiculous reason. As it is, the real chapter name is at the beginning of the chapter proper.)_

 _Okay, let me take a look at my checklist:_

 _1._ Finish my PCT training. _Welp, I've still got two or so weeks left, but hey, I'm pretty much set then!_

 _2_. Download Pokémon GO. _Tried to, but APPARENTLY, my "device is not compatible" with the software. I mean, what?! Is it that my phone is too old or something!? What kind of bulls-_

 _3._ Upload newest chapter of Gravitational Pull. _Yeah. Yeah, I'll do that. So without further ado, here's the latest chapter of Pokémon G-_ *sob*

 _Sorry, Pokémon: Gravitational Pull._

 _(You know what? Forget GO! I don't care anymore! I don't even care! [i care immensely.])_

* * *

Chapter 10: Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It…

 _Twinleaf Town, September 21st, Morning_

"Mom! We're leaving now!" Dawn called to her mother as she descended the stairs to the living room.

"Hold on, Missy!" she called from the kitchen before she made it out the door. "What's the matter, you don't wanna kiss your mother goodbye?"

The youth kissed her mother's cheek with a bit of a blush; she didn't mean to forget to give her a proper goodbye, but she really was anxious about Rowan's experiment. The older Berlitz tossed the newspaper she had been reading and pulled out a box from under the island. "I had some time to prepare, so I ordered some Trainer supplies. I suspect you'll get around getting your errand done, so this should make the beginning that much smoother."

"Mom, this is perfect!" There were all sorts of great items in the box: a brace each of Poké Balls, Potions, and Antidotes, as well as three Escape Ropes. There was even a Town Map so she couldn't get lost! "This must have cost a fortune…" Now she felt really bad about rushing out!

"Don't beat yourself up, kiddo," Johanna said with a smile. "I know how exciting this must be, working with a Professor, getting a Pokémon and all that. All I ask is that you don't have so much fun that you forget to visit an old woman like me every once in a while."

"Oh… momma…" Dawn wasn't a very emotional person, but she was quickly becoming overwhelmed at the thought of leaving her mother alone while she went on her journey.

"Come on, baby girl, don't go soft on me now." Nevertheless, she took the teary-eyed girl into her arms gratefully. "You and Chimchar are gonna go far. Now," she turned Dawn around and patted on the back, "you've got a meeting to get to."

"R-right," Dawn said, rubbing her eyes dry on her sleeve. "I'll see you soon, Mom. Love you!" Sensing that the timing was appropriate, Chimchar took the liberty of escaping his Ball to convey a similar sentiment. "Let's go, Chimchar." With a cheep of agreement, he followed his Trainer out the door, leaving Johanna alone.

"Hm, now that Dawn's officially on her Pokémon journey, I can finally set dry liquor on the table again!" Even as she did so, her mind drifted to the newspaper currently in the trash, and then to her daughter. _I know you're capable, baby girl,_ she thought as she set the last bottle. _You're smart, strong, and determined, and that'll get you far in life. And in these times especially, you're gonna need all of it to stay above water._ Frowning at one of the bottles, she opened it and sniffed. " _Eeeeyuhgk_! I knew under the island was a bad place to store wine, but this is ridiculous!"

* * *

 _Route 201, Twenty Minutes Later…_

"B! **B!"**

"Yes, J? Why are you yelling?"

"The chosen! They're gone! I can't sense them in Twinleaf; they must have slipped out when we were away!"

"Hold on, "sense" them? You're psychic?"

"Sometimes. But that's not important right now!"

"All right, all right… are they at Lake Verity?"

"Unless they teleported there in the last minute, I'm pretty sure they're not."

"Ooh, snippy!"

"Look, if we lose them now, our entire mission is shot. We don't know what resources they have access to, or if they can bike or Fly or-"

"I see one."

"WHERE?!"

 _Snap_! Crash! Crunch! BAM!

"…Are you okay, Jasper?"

"I'm fine! We need to follow them to Sandgem Town, now! And don't say my name! _They_ could be listening again!"

"…Look, about that, J… don't you think the whole "invisible observer horde" thing seem just a _little_ unlikely? I mean, you said yourself you never know for sure when they're watching."

"Hmmmmm…"

"What?"

"Yeah, I guess I see your point; from an outside perspective, it would seem a little… Farfetch'd."

"…We. Aren't. Even. Talking. About. _Pokémon_. This. Time. That pun doesn't work in this context."

"Well _I_ thought it was funny, and really, isn't that what's import-"

"No. No, it is not."

"Heh. Whatever, let's follow them."

* * *

 _Sandgem Town, five minutes after that…_

A small crowd loitering in front of a large house with a blue roof was the first thing Dawn and Chimchar saw upon entering Sandgem Town. With a small jolt of surprise, she realized that they were all of the chosen Trainers, minus Lucas. "Everyone's here so early!" she said to herself. "The meeting's still a half hour away! Hey guys," she said out loud, catching everyone's attention, "how long have you been waiting?"

"Not too long, I hope," said Lucas as he approached. Stopping in front of the door, he pulled out a key and unlocked it in short order. Swinging the door wide open, he said, "Follow me, everyone," and went inside. With only a moment of hesitation, they complied, walking single-file through the slightly chilly lab until they were all facing Professor Rowan himself.

"Hello, everyone. It's certainly a pleasure to see you all again." The Trainers all gave similar greetings in turn. "Well, I feel it is best to get this out of the way first: if you would all let your Pokémon out, I would like to have a look at them."

Seven Poke Balls were immediately triggered, releasing their occupants: Cyan's Sneasel, Dawn's Chimchar, Dan's Snorunt, Barry's Piplup, Vance's Gible, Jessica's Magnemite, and Lucas' Turtwig. Rowan walked around, inspecting all of them silently and thoroughly.

"Hmm… I see…" he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and then nodded approvingly. "These Pokémon certainly seem happy. Entrusting you to them was no mistake, it appears!" This final confirmation uplifted the Trainers, soothing a small, disbelieving part of them that they didn't until then knew they had. "As these Pokémon are yours," he continued, "I believe it is only fair to offer you the chance to nickname your Pokémon. If you wish, the computer behind me is running a program to do exactly that." A bit of a stirring ensued: should they name their Pokémon? Or should they continue as they were? The Pokémon themselves were indifferent; they already knew if they were the ones being ordered or not, so it didn't much matter what name they were called anyway, as long as it wasn't too humiliating. In the end, it was decided amongst the Trainers that they would. Barry was first, and after a minute of head-scratching and brainstorming, decided on "Frigate", which the newly-christened Penguin Pokémon approved of immensely. And so it went: Snorunt became Sora, Gible became Garvey, Sneasel became Mistral, Magnemite became Coro, Turtwig became Atlas, and Chimchar became Wukong.

"Good! Now that that's settled, it's time we move onto the matter at hand. Allow me to properly introduce myself first: My name, as you know, is Rowan. I study Pokémon as a profession, with an emphasis on Evolution. I wish to know what kinds of Pokémon live in this world of ours. To do so, it is necessary to collect data using a device known as a Pokédex." He pulled a red device similar to a DS out of his lab coat. "This is what I am asking of all of you today: Will you record data on all the Pokémon in Sinnoh for me?" A resounding chorus of. "Yes, Sir!" met his ears, and he felt a genuine grin grace his features. "Thank you, sincerely!" He handed a Pokédex to all of them except Lucas, who doubtless had one already.

"Now listen well: the Pokédex is a very high-tech device, one a fellow Pokémon Professor invented roughly six years previously. This current model is one I developed in tandem with that very same Professor just last year, but only recently added several new functions of my own design following several major developments. These Pokédex are connected wirelessly to each other, allowing you to share data you input in to each other, allowing you fill it in tandem and edit as you see fit. In addition, it can hold info on Pokémon on a National scale, perfect for non-native Pokémon you will doubtless see on your travels. You'll all be working together on this great endeavor of yours, so I ask you all to utilize each other strengths and differences in interest of your goal." He nodded. "Finally, even with all of that on your shoulders, I feel it is important for you to have fun. I've lived for sixty-one long years, and even now, working and being with Pokémon gives me a thrill. In this world of ours, there are countless Pokémon. That means there are just as many thrills waiting for you out there. Now go, all of you! Your grand adventure begins right now!"

Lucas began to speak, the light of passion gleaming in his eyes. "Okay everyone, as of now, we're comrades working toward the same goal. If you'll follow me to Route 202, I'll teach you the basics of catching a Pokémon and inputting its data into the Pokédex." He strode out with Atlas in tow, and all of them followed his lead except Dawn, who was now occupied taking in the lab and its pristine working condition. "Oh, hello Dawn," a familiar voice called, and she turned to see Roseanne approach her, clipboard in hand. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"Hello, Ms. Roseanne," Dawn replied. "How are you today?"

"'Roseanne' is fine, and quite well, thank you. So, today is your first day as a field operator. How do you feel?"

"I feel good, great even. I really felt the Professor's speech strike a chord in me. Are you in this too?"

"No, no, I just assist the Professor here in the lab. I look forward to working with you in the future, Dawn. I have complete faith in you and your friends."

"Thank you, Roseanne. We'll make you all proud, no need to worry! C'mon Chim- whoops, I mean, C'mon Wukong, we've got a demonstration to get to!"

* * *

 _Well, that's that, I suppose. I got basically no response last chapter, so I don't even know what people think about the direction I'm taking it so far, or if they even see the hints I'm dropping about the future. Rest assured, it's not your typical rehash. SO, Favorite, Follow, and Review, and, as always, thanks for reading._


	11. The Next Step!

Before we begin, I'll just ask, do you like puns? No? Great! Begin!

* * *

Chapter 11: The Next Step!

"This is a Poké Mart. You probably won't see many of them as time goes on; the National League Association acquired the company a few months back, so they're starting to merge them to the Centers for convenience," Lucas explained to the troupe behind him. He saw Dawn joining them from the corner of his eye. "Okay, now that Dawn's here, we can all head out to Route 202. But first, a gift, sort of." He pulled out a cylindrical case. Unzipping it, he opened it to reveal a row of compact discs. "These are Technical Machines, or TMs for short. You can use them to teach the move it contains to a Pokémon. BUT, it's a single use item, so choose the Pokémon carefully! These TMs contain the move Return, a Physical Attack that grows more powerful the more the Pokémon likes the Trainer."

"How do we use a TM?" Cyan asked.

"Well normally when you have a TM, you'd have to store the Pokémon you want to teach it to in the PC and teach it there. However, you guys can do that using the Pokédex. Just make sure the Pokémon you want to teach it to is in their Ball, through. Come on, everyone, get a TM." There was a bit of a scramble as everyone tried to grab one at once, but in the end, everyone got one just fine… except Dawn and Lucas, who were left staring at the last disc. "Huh… I guess I miscounted," Lucas said sheepishly. "You can go ahead and use this one, Dawn. There might be one meant for me back at the lab."

"No need for that," Dawn said brightly, only just remembering the perfect tool for the situation at hand. "I just need it for a second." Confused, but intrigued nonetheless, Lucas handed the TM over. All Dawn had to do was hold the disc over a small red node set in the side of her Wonder Bag for a few seconds, and _beep!_ She handed the TM back to the other Trainer with a "Thanks!"

"Wait, what just happened?"

"Well, you see, on my last birthday, a friend of my mom's sent me this Wonder Bag from the Unova Region. The note attached had instructions on copying the contents of a TM directly into its digital storage without using it up. Plus, the data itself is completely safe from corruption in the disc, so I can use it as many times as I want."

Lucas whistled. "Well, that's…"

"Incredibly unfair?"

"Disgustingly broken?"

"Outright cheating?"

"…very useful." he finished evenly.

"Okay, you guys are just being rude, to the both of us for that matter," Dawn complained as she fiddled with her Pokédex. Finally managing to enter the main screen, she groaned aloud as a pop-up stopped her from advancing any further. "Does anyone know how to deal with this?!"

"The pop-up is a prompt to input your information. Do that, and then select "Link" to join up with the others."

XxXxX

As she did so, the two watchers, misters "B" and "J", recently revealed as Jasper, had arrived, and watched silently as Dawn did as instructed. Without fanfare, she brought up the TM screen without a hitch and, after a moment of deliberation, taught Wukong Return.

"She's resourceful, and better equipped than most," Jasper murmured to himself. "She may be one of the chosen… but I need to see more to be sure." A sudden feeling gripping him, he scouted the area until he found the source: a lone girl with glossy auburn hair watching the band of Trainers from the bushes. "Hey, B, who… is that?"

B followed his partner's pointed finger to the girl. "Isn't that that girl from the test? Mary, I think?"

Jasper snapped his fingers, recalling a recent event. "Yeah, she beat three of them already with an Altaria she received from her father. I would call it cheating, but that Rapidash died a long while ago."

"Yeah, she uses an Altaria… just like…" B fell silent, prompting Jasper to look at him.

"Hey, B… you're not thinking about-"

"It's fine, J," he said a little too quickly, tugging the brim of his hat over his eyes. "Let's just keep watching."

"B-"

"I said it's fine!" Below them, Marisol jerked, only just catching B's hissed outburst. Seeing this, Jasper grabbed his incensed partner's shoulder and Shifted, bringing them both to the beach just south of town. Being a cloudy September morning, there were very few people there, none near enough to see or hear the black-clad pair.

"Are you trying to compromise us?!" Jasper snarled at B, who didn't answer, instead turning around and walking to the edge of the beach, where he watched the sea throw waves at the shore that nearly reached this feet before inevitably being sucked back into the deep. "B! Bu-"

"I'm just so-" the boy almost seemed to choke on his words, before saying, "I'm just so… I just don't wanna talk about it right now, okay? Everyone back at the base, everyone at home… they always want me to talk about it, talk through it, move past it, and I just… _don't_." His words, once slow, came forth faster, forcibly cast from his mouth like a bitter curse. "I don't want to deal with it, I don't want to be comforted, I don't want to be treated like a china doll because of it, and-" he took a shallow breath- "I don't want to just "move on"…" Having vented, he sat down on the sand, still watching the sea.

"…" Jasper, unsure of his next move, only sat down beside him, watching the iron-gray waves rise and fall, obscuring the horizon with their rhythmic movements. After a few minutes, he finally said, "I'm not the one you'll want to talk to about… well, anything, really. That takes a level of emotional depth I'm pretty sure I didn't have even before I found myself on the slab. Still, we're all to move on. … I'm not making you feel any better, am I?"

"No… but it's okay." He stood up and brushed the sand off his pants. "I'm feeling a bit better now. Sorry for almost blowing our cover back there."

"No worries here, man." Jasper was willing to let the matter go for the time being, but knew he had to deal with it for real before it came to a head; with everything else he and his were dealing with in a constant state of imminent disintegration, an emotional breakdown from one of the senior members of the group would probably send it all right to hell. "Still, you are quite the ball of ang-Staryu?"

"…You ruined it. You ruined it, and I'm leaving."

"It was spur of the moment, so sue me. It's not like it was… Absol-utely heinous."

"I hate you."

"What do you want, a Medal Claw?"

"If you were hanging off the edge of a cliff with rabid Sharpedo in the waters below, and I was the only one who could save you, at this moment I would totally let you fall."

"Oh, come on, you know you love me."

XxXxX

While the two continued their odd conversation, the girl in the bushes, now the girl at the window, was spying through it at a truly worthwhile prize if her gambit succeeded. "A Pokédex, hm?" she said to herself. "That's a start if there ever was one. After that, it will be easy to serve them all their just desserts."

* * *

...I swear none of the second half of the chapter was planned in any way. It just sprung out of nowhere. But hey, Marisol showed up again, and it appears she has a plan. Oh, the humanity! Well, Favorite, Follow, and Review, and, as always, thanks for reading.


	12. Jubilife Got You Down?

_I don't even know what I was thinking. Even so… enjoy?_

 _PS: I really should mention that the second half of the chapter gets a bit… intense. So, erm, be warned._

* * *

Chapter 12: Jubilife Got You Down?

 _Route 202, September 21st, Noon_

"So, I have another proposition for everyone," Slifer said after Lucas' Pokémon catching demonstration. "Who here's gunning for the Pokémon League?" Dawn, Barry, and Vance all raised their hands. "Come on, no one else?"

"Hmm…" Lucas mused, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sure, I've thought about it when I was younger; everyone does. But honestly, I just don't think it's possible for most people, me included. Besides, I've found my place as Professor Rowan's assistant. I don't really need much else."

Dan could only shrug. "I never really gave it much thought." Cyan said much the same, causing Slifer to snort.

"Seriously? Not one thought? Challenging the Gyms? Tackling the Elite 4? Becoming Champion?" They looked at each other, and shrugged in unison. Slifer rubbed her temples in exasperation. "Well you need to do it anyway; challenging the Gyms, I mean. You need badges to use HMs, and you need HMs to go to most places in the Sinnoh region. If you want to complete the Pokédex, you're gonna want to collect at least a few of those. _Anyways_ , that's not exactly important. What _is_ is our teams!"

"What do you mean?" Vance asked.

"I want us to _really_ commit to our teams, and really have a challenge while we do this. So I've come up with an idea: our teams, should we decide to expand upon them, should all revolve around one type or theme." This proposal was met with silence, as each Trainer tried to see the merit in the idea, and to a one failed. It was Barry who asked, "Why?"

"Because it'll be fun."

"Okay, How?"

"Okay, bear with me on this: we will all search for Pokémon to battle with as time goes on and the going gets tougher, right?" Slifer wasn't the best speech maker, but she gave her all when she believed in an idea. "So instead of getting any old Starly or Burmy, why not give your team an inventive gimmick, like a shared Type or style of move? That would make you stand out as a Trainer."

"Sure, if you succeeded," Vance said, not sold on the idea, "but with a shared Type team, most if not _all_ of your Pokémon will have the same weakness. It's way too easy to exploit."

"Not to mention that your other example will limit you to a specific strategy," Cyan added, "which will be easy for an opponent familiar to it to counter. In short, to do either of these things with any sort of success, you would have to be an especially skilled Trainer, which none of us are yet."

"But you will be if you stick to it!" Slifer said, unwilling to let it go. "Besides, I haven't given you any incentive yet."

"Okay, what is it?"

"We make it a pot of sorts: the one who goes the furthest with their team, be it Champion, Gym Leader or I dunno, savior of the universe or something, wins one hundred _thousand_ PokéYen each from everyone who's in it."

Everyone's eyebrows shot straight up, and thought the same thing: _¥100,000?!_ Each _?!_ Any Trainer of some merit could make that much in the course of a Cycle or two in the more competitive areas of Sinnoh, but to make several times that in…

"Hold up. What's the time limit? You said the furthest to go gets the pot, but within what time period? A month? A Cycle?" Dan said, using the term for the three month period the Pokemon League challenge was open.

"Let's say… until a new Champion is crowned," she said sweetly.

"All right with me," he said, drawing a sigh of relief from everyone who knew them, which in term drew a confused look from Lucas. Everyone agreed as well, the allure of ¥700,000 too much to ignore. In time, the decisions were made: Dawn would go with a Fighting type team, Barry would go with the Steel type, and Slifer the Electric type. On the other side, Lucas would center his team around stalling tactics, Cyan would go with a strategy revolving around speed, and Dan around what he called "controlling the pace of battle".

The gaggle continued their way north toward Jubilife City, catching local Pokémon like Starly and Kricketot as the day wore on. Several battles were also held between them and fellow rookie Trainers they encountered on the way. At around three in the afternoon they set up a small, out of the way clearing for a late lunch and strategy meeting. It was going well underway when Dan asked one of the more pertinent questions of the day: "Okay, so we all caught a Starly, Bidoof, Shinx, and Kricketot each. How do we fill up their Pokédex entries?"

Lucas leapt to his feet with a small cry of dismay. "Aw, man! Did I forget them back at the Lab?! Hold on, maybe they're in-" Blind to his comrades' looks of confusion, he "dug" through the digital storage of his bag, and sighed in relief when he found what he was looking for. With a white flash and a flourish, he materialized a large instrument made of a smooth, delicate-looking nonmetallic material. "Behold! The All-Scale!" he said triumphantly.

"…"

"…Yeah, yeah, I know, the name's terrible," he said sheepishly, "But it works like a dream! Okay Dan, bring out your Snorunt."

"Um… alright." With a flash and a _FWOOOOOOSH_ , she appeared before them. "Heya, Snorunt," he said amiably, before correcting himself, "Well, I guess it's 'Sora' now, so "Heya, Sora!"" Sora met him with a wider grin than usual, not forgetting her first caretaker. "Sora, could you step on this scale for us, please?" She did just that, and a rod of green energy shot out of the base. Stopping just above her head, the tip bent until it laid level with the top of her head. After a moment, the rod straightened and retracted, and the scale beeped, the screen at the base lighting up. Lucas read, "And Sora is… two foot four inches tall and roughly 37 pounds; pretty standard measurements for a Snorunt, if I recall correctly."

Everyone in attendance was duly impressed by the demonstration, but Cyan had to ask, "What is the limit of your scale's capabilities? How much weight can it bear?"

"That's the best part!" Lucas said, getting excited for some reason. "We (we, of course, meaning Professor Rowan along with myself and all the other Aides) designed this with materials like graphene and space-grade plastic. It can hold up to 4000 pounds, and the laser can extend up to 50 feet. The scale itself is expandable, and the instrument as a whole is borderline indestructible. There is no Pokémon this thing can't measure!" He pulled out his Pokédex and pressed the front edge of it to a gray colored square on the scale's side, removing it when the device beeped. "And now that the Snorunt entry's measurements are uploaded to my 'Dex, I can share it with the rest of you… of course, none of us owning a Snorunt except for Dan means that only he can even see the info in the first place. _But_ , we can read everything we all have, so let's record all the other Pokémon's measurements. I even have All-Scales for the everyone here, so the job can get by quicker. Careful, though, these things are super light, so be careful you don't let it slip and fly off somewhere."

Roughly five minutes later, they had just finished with the last entry when Barry asked another pertinent question: "What's this lower box under the Pokemon's picture for?"

Lucas, of course, did his best to answer: "That box is for further information, like migratory patterns, distinguishing features, or even folklore. You won't know much of any of that for now, so be sure to read up on Pokemon in general while you're on your journey." He was somewhat surprised to hear a groan from Dan.

"Man, I thought we were field agents," he complained. "You're tellin' me we gotta do schoolwork? I didn't sign up for this!"

Lucas opened his mouth to answer, but Cyan beat him to it, fixing the younger Trainer with a hard look and saying, "You seem to forget, Hibiki, that we are on an important mission for the Professor, not a day trip to the Safari Zone. If we are to do "schoolwork" to complete it, then we shall; if you wish to leave, however, the Lab is back down the road."

Not wishing to confront the older boy, Dan only muttered under his breath and looked away. Sora, however, was having none of it, jumping on Dan's head and chattering aggressively at Cyan, who nearly fell of the stump he was sitting on in his surprise.

"Everyone _please_ calm down," Lucas said in a half-pleading, half-cajoling manner. "Look Dan, I'm sorry, but field work isn't always going to be, you know, _field_ work. There are some things you can't learn just by following a Pokemon for an hour and taking notes. When that happens, you gotta hit the books. And yeah, a lot of the time, it's boring. But you can learn really interesting things, and not just from the books themselves. Talking to village elders and fellow Pokemon researchers are great ways to get information."

He turned to Cyan next. "And don't get too smug over there, Cyan, 'cuz I've got a problem with you too."

"M-me?"

"Yes, you," Lucas said, sounding stern for the first time. "I can see that you're used to acting as an arbiter in your neck of the woods, breaking up fights, shutting down bellyaching from the people under you, etc. But you have to understand that as far as this group goes, there is no 'under you', or any of us, and barring the Professor, there's no one above us either. Everyone here right now works together as equals, and you need to treat them that way. That means no answering for anyone else, or strong-arming anyone who's being difficult back into line. Got it?"

"…Yes," Cyan replied, not quite meeting him in the eye, "and… my apologies."

Lucas cleared his throat, looking slightly embarrassed. "I mean, I'm not really doing this to undermine you or anything. It's just that we need to work as a unit, and we can't have that with resentment and tension in the air."

"I understand, and you will have no need to worry in the future."

Lucas smiled, and the conversation moved to other, safer topics until the end of the hour, where they continued on their journey.

It was late in the day when they made it to the city limits. There, a grand, multilayered skyline of glittering glass and steel greeted their gaze. Already, lights were blazing throughout the metropolis, despite the fact that it was barely sunset. Above the city itself, bird Pokémon large and small weaved through the air. "Well," Lucas said, breaking the silence, "I guess we should head to the Pokémon Center; there'll be rooms there for Trainers-"

"Way ahead of ya!" Barry said, zooming off despite Lucas' call of, "Hold on! Do you even know where you're going?!" He groaned aloud and told the rest of the group, "We're going to have to find Barry before we get to the Center, guys. Sorry, but a big city really isn't safe at night."

"It's fine by us," Dawn said, somewhat embarrassed. "We'll cover more ground if we split up."

"Good idea," Lucas replied. "It'll be you, me, and Dan in one group, and Cyan and Slifer in the other-"

"Actually, if I may interject," Cyan said.

"Shoot."

"I feel I may have better success searching only with Mistral; I may be otherwise distracted working with others."

"Well…" Lucas took in the sight of the other Trainer, taking note of the size and muscle advantage he clearly had over others his age, and those many years older to boot. With a Pokemon at his side, not many people would take the risk of messing with him. "Go right ahead. Slifer, you're with Dan." Ignoring their groans of irritation, he simply gave the order to move out, and they split up as decided to begin their search.

* * *

 _Thirty Minutes Later…_

"Hmm…" Barry mused to himself, looking at what appeared to be City Hall, judging by the lettering on the front saying "CITY HALL". "Well, Frigate, we might be lost. Darn, it's getting dark, too…" The Piplup could only peep sadly and sit on the curb, resigned to that status five blocks ago. "Aw, come on, don't be like that!" Barry said in an attempt to cheer his partner up. "We can just go in and ask someone where the Pokémon Center is!"

'They probably won't listen to you.'

The teen nearly jumped right out of his skin at the 'sound' of a voice that wasn't a voice. He whirled 360 degrees, trying to catch a glimpse of its source, but the oddly deserted street gave no sign.

'They have their own problems to deal with,' a second voice echoed in his head, rougher but definitely female, compare to the ambiguous monotone of the first.

"Who are you?" Barry shouted into the air, even as fog began to roll in. _Aw,_ HELL _no._ "S-show yourselves!" A pair of shadows formed in the fog maybe twenty feet away, and that was all he needed to see. "Frigate, use Bubble!" Apparently of the same mind as his Trainer, the Piplup immediately let loose a heavy froth of bubbles directly at the two shadowy figures… who instantly disappeared, leaving the attack to drift lazily out of sight. "Aw, _HELL_ no!" Barry exclaimed aloud this time, whipping his head from left to right in vain hope of keeping them in front of him.

'Really? Attacking us?' the first "speaker" said, a cool amusement coloring their words.

'And after we were considerate enough to show ourselves, too,' the second "speaker" tutted.

'Still, if what they want is a battle, I suppose we can oblige.'

"Frigate, stay close!" Barry yelled, aware of a change of pressure. The fog was beginning to churn as high winds cut into it from all directions, a sure sign of power building up. The worst part was, he knew he wouldn't know what his assailants meant to do with it until it was too late. He briefly considered running, but he dismissed it out of hand; the only thing dumber than trying to fight invisible attackers was trying to run away from invisible attackers. All of a sudden, the wind changed direction, this time blowing to his left. "Frigate-"

'Boop.' Barry's already diminished vision instantly turned pitch-black as Frigate leapt onto his face with a cheep of terror. Of course, this fact didn't quite connect in Barry's head until he was on top of the nearest lamppost. Giggling coming from directly below only stoking both his fear and his fire, he pulled off the wailing Piplup and shouted down, "All right, are you gonna tell me what you want, or are you just gonna keep screwing with me?"

'Screwing with him sounds fun, eh, Lucy?'

'Alas, we have a Job to do. Alright, come on down, kid, we won't Bite.'

"How do I know you're not gonna mess me up the moment I come down?" Barry asked incredulous.

'Because if we wanted to harm you, we would've done it by now.'

"Well… I, um…" They did have a point; he seriously doubted that the distance afforded to him by the woefully inadequate lamppost made any real difference to the duo. Still, he wanted to be just a little more sure before he waltzed into their arms. "And you promise you won't attack me if I do?"

'Not unless you attack us first,' the second speaker replied half-jokingly.

'And hey,' the first speaker said, 'as a show of good faith, I'll even do this.' With a thrum of energy, the fog melted away, allowing Barry to get his first real look at his attackers: the first one was an odd looking Gardevoir; its "fronds", which normally would fall in such a way as to make a sort of dress, were parted at the front in a style reminiscent of a longcoat. It was also slightly built up in the chest and shoulders, so while still slender, it couldn't be considered waif-like like most Gardevoir. 'Ta da,' it, or rather, _he_ , continued telepathically, 'now you can see. Aren't I generous?'

'Yeah, yeah, that's cute and all, Lucian,' the female speaker, a scarred Lucario that nearly matched the Gardevoir's height, chimed in, 'but if this kid's anything like me, he's about to explode with impatience, so how's about we give him a few answers?'

'All right, all right,' the Gardevoir said, waving off his partner. 'The basics should suffice for now: I am Lucian, and she is Barda. We are normally called Team CBB, but our third member is MIA at the moment, so it's just 'Lucian and Barda' for now. We were going our way when we heard your predicament, so we were just going to tell you why going into the mayor's office is a waste of time.'

"So what changed your mind?"

'I was REALLY bored.'

"That's your defense for attacking a child?!"

'It wasn't a defense, just an explanation.'

"Whatever! Why can't I go in?" he yelled, realizing that he was too heated to continue going down that tread and forcing himself back to the main issue, though not without promising himself that revenge would come later.

'They're preoccupied with the flock of Skarmory attacking the city,' Barda said nonchalantly.

 _Skarmory?_ "But they're Johto Pokemon. Why are they here in Jubilife?"

'What, have you been living under a rock the last year?' she asked, incredulous.

"Close: Twinleaf Town."

'Figures,' she huffed. 'Okay, CliffNotes version: a year ago, give or take a few months, a huge oil tanker shlepped into Canalave City just a few hours west of here. There didn't seem to be a Captain, and when Port Authority came a knocking, it became clear that there weren't any humans, period. But when night fell they heard all sorts of cries and screams coming from the hull. They had a crew beach it and tear it open, and the moment they did, a the single biggest horde of Pokemon you ever saw raced out like they were escaping a wildfire, all of them native to Kanto and Johto. Fast forward to now, and they're all over Sinnoh, screwing up the ecosystem like nobody's business, breeding like crazy and driving out native species that can't do it as fast. Doesn't help that the Indigo League is basically ignoring the whole debacle and leaving the Sinnoh League to deal with it by itself. Supposedly, they keep the 'Mon out of their cities and the like with Specie-specific poisons, hunter Pokémon charged with rooting them out before they take hold, etc. Kanto in particular's a technological powerhouse, though. Sinnoh, being Sinnoh, Sinnoh, has a _much_ more Pokémon-friendly policy in general (along with an emphasis on history, theology and spirituality, and the environment, but that's not important right now), so it can't very well do that, now can it? So, in retaliation, Sinnoh just cut off trade with Kanto, so now both sides are pretty steamed at each other. But, since Kanto relies on Sinnoh so much for raw materials and Sinnoh is friendly with Unova, (who's basically like a second Kanto, which means things like tech and medical advances are still flowing into your end), Kanto's definitely left holding the crap stick.' The Lucario was met with stunned silence from her three listeners. '…What?'

"…"

'…What!?'

'Nothing! Just… your CliffNotes version was really, uh, in-depth,' Frigate said.

'Aw, thanks, little guy!' Barda said, taking it as a compliment.

"Wait, what'd he say?" Barry asked, confused; unfortunately, the telepathy the two Pokemon employed only applied to them.

'Oh, he only paid me a small but much deserved compliment. Now, back to the matter at hand: City Hall can't and won't help you find the Pokemon Center, so we may as well!'

"How do I know you're not just gonna mess with me again?" Barry asked, understandably dubious.

'Kid, for all you know, this is just a dream we're letting you experience while we steal your organs,' Lucian answered. 'As it is, you might as well come with us. Or not. It's not like it matters anyhow.' Whether or not the Gardevoir did indeed mean for that to put Barry at ease (and it was truly impossible to tell with him), it failed on every conceivable level: the teen's immediate response was to run twenty feet away, breathe deeply for a bit, and then, with the grace of a running start, hit Lucian with a kick to the gut that brought to mind a SWAT team leader breaking down the door of a meth lab. With all that said, Lucian went down, and everyone froze for different reasons: Frigate was waiting for Barda to make a move, Barda was debating whether to burst out laughing before or after she kicked the boy in half, and Barry was looking at his surroundings to confirm his… let's call it a hypothesis.

After a few moments, he nodded and said, "Well, unless he's the greatest psychic in the world—and I can think of at least one reason why he isn't—we're not in a dream world."

 _Before, then._

Barry was surprised to see Barda start to giggle, and then laugh out loud, before saying, 'Yeah, you really were askin' for it this time, Lucy!'

Lucian sat up, rubbing his stomach and grimacing. "Ow. Barda, bring that crazy bastard over here. I'm blasting him from the bottom up so he can watch himself burn."

"W-what?" Barda asked, taking a step back.

"WHAT?!" Barry echoed, not quite believing himself what he just heard… and then froze as he realized that it was what he just _heard_. Physically. With his own two ears. The way the two strange Pokemon stiffened when they realized it too convinced him it wasn't just his brain misfiring. "You two can TA-" Pain exploded in the back of his head. Unable to stand, let alone keep his eyes open, he crashed to the ground and slipped into unconsciousness.

Barda drew her arm back, letting the glow of her Force Palm blink out. "And now to deal with you," she said to the stunned Frigate.

'B-but,' he said, babbling in his horror, 'how-'

"If you mean the attack, and how neither of you even saw me move, trust me, the further you go and the stronger you get, today's gonna end up looking like a party trick; if you mean the talking thing, the story's way too long to get into right now, and don't you think that's a little inappropriate to ask at the moment?"

Frigate latched onto her use of phrases like 'the further you go'. 'You mean, you're not gonna k-kill us? I mean, you could have done Barry in right then, but he's still breathing.' A snore from the aforementioned Trainer confirmed this.

"No, no, you don't have to worry on that front. You should be worried about _this!_ " She instantly flashed forward and punted him straight into the air. Leaping after him, energy flickered into being around her palm as she brought it up. Seeing this, Frigate could only ask, 'Why!?'

She seemed to ponder the query the moment before striking, finally saying, "Call it… incentive. Sweet dreams." With an inexorable downward swing, her Force Palm hit the defenseless Piplup with the power of a mortar, sending him crashing to the ground with enough force to leave a crater. Landing noiselessly, she checked the Pokemon at the center: out cold, but breathing fine. "You'll both live," she said to the unconscious youths, "and odds are, you won't remember the finer details. But you will remember the most important thing: There is an opponent that defeated you utterly, and without mercy. Let that drive the two of you to become strong, to try and surpass me, so that when we meet again—and we WILL meet again, make no mistake!—you will be strong enough to stand against me. But train hard; I won't be slacking off myself, you know." She sauntered over to the now standing Lucian and said, "I swear, all this trouble because you wanted to mess with a few kids. What would your mother say?"

The Gardevoir shrugged. "Wouldn't know; haven't seen her in years. For all I know, she'd be the type to throw me a parade. It'd certainly explain why I'm so messed up."

"Yep. Shall we go?"

"Yeah, I think we did all we could do in this part of the region, so we should head back. Grab on." She held his offered arm, and the two disappeared in a blink of white light.

* * *

 _So… that was fun, eh?_

… _Please don't crucify me._


	13. Why, Yes! Yes It Does!

_Hell's Bells, this is late. I hope that this chapter is exciting enough to be worth the wait, and if not, please don't be too irate._

* * *

Chapter 13: Why, Yes! Yes It Does!

Slifer was having a _great_ time dealing with Hibiki's nonsense. His constant attempts to make her lose her cool were wearing her patience incredibly thin, and he seemed to take both silence and her polite (for her) requests to stop as a psychological victory over her. Just before she finally snapped and tried to maul him, however, a truly perfect opportunity presented itself in the form of the Trainer who just rounded the corner into view. "Hey, Dan," she said, the rare use of his first name catching his attention, "is that your brother?"

Hibiki was watching an oddly shimmery Flying-type above them, but at the mention of the word "brother", he whipped his head around so fast his neck cricked. "You mean-"

"Hey, little brother! Hey, Slifer!"

"J-jimmy! Hey, my man," Dan cried, sweating visibly. Slifer noticed with with no small amount of satisfaction that he switched his gaze between her and the newly arrived Jimmy with an equal amount of panic. Being one to compile information on her enemies (or, in Dan's case, annoying allies), she knew that Dan's history with his family as a whole was rife with tragic comedy, but with his adopted brother specifically… Slifer could barely keep a straight face as she waited for the inevitable.

"So, you're starting your errand for the Pokémon Professor today, eh? Sorry I missed seeing you off."

"It's fine. I mean, it's more a mission than an errand, but it's fine. SO!" Dan stopped himself, cleared his throat, and continued at a normal volume, "What are you doing in Jubilife?"

"I was just sending a letter to my girlfriend," Jimmy replied, "when I heard some interesting news: the Global Trade Station is finally up and running! People can trade with each other all over the world! Isn't that cool?"

"Yeah, actually!" Dan said, and looked to Slifer. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That the GTS is a good way to fill up entries in the Pokédex, yeah. Shall we go, Jimmy?" she directed at the older Hibiki, who blinked back his surprise and nodded.

"Yeah. Just follow me, you two." The older trainer turned and walked toward a building larger than the rest, and, after a quick nod between them, the two novices followed.

Xxx

"Sorry, but if you two don't have at least one Gym Badge each, you aren't allowed in," the Trainer standing guard said in a thoroughly unapologetic tone.

"Come ON, man, we're on a mission from Professor Rowan!" Dan burst out, only succeeding in making the olive-haired teen snort in derision.

"Right, because the Pokemon Professor thought the best Trainers to use would be a gaggle of runts from some hick town by a lake. If you wanna get in, get a badge; Oreburgh Gym'll still be open by the time you get there."

Dan nearly exploded with indignant fury, and actually managed to get right up to the older boy's face before Slifer yanked him back by the collar and shook him. "Calm down, you idiot! Are you trying to put yourself in the hospital?"

"Listen to your girlfriend, Ponytail," the boy said, brushing imaginary dust off his black and red bodysuit, "Unless you're looking to get wrecked, I suggest you beat it." This, of course, only inflamed the younger Hibiki more.

Pushing him to Jimmy, who restrained him with no trouble whatsoever, Slifer only let out a particularly acidic laugh; she was nearly as angry as Dan, seeing as the Trainer's taunts applied to her as well, but was much more equipped to deal with that anger. She pulled out her Pokédex, and noted the recognition growing in the Trainer's eyes with satisfaction. "As you can see, this is a Pokédex. We are helping Professor Rowan complete it, and we feel that your just _lovely_ tower will bring us one step closer to that goal. Will you let us pass, or are you going to impede us further?" Her tone left no choice in the matter, and yet he _still_ made the wrong one: "'Dex holders or not, I still can't let you pass. Besides, one of you came here an hour ago, and _she_ had a badge, so that's no excuse."

"Pardon?" Slifer asked, mind racing at this revelation. _Does he mean… DAWN?! I can't believe her! It's HER friend that we've been looking for this entire time, and she has the NERVE to- wait._ "That can't be right. We all started this morning, and we arrived in Jubilife less than an hour ago."

"Hey, I'm just telling you what I saw: a girl with a Gym Badge and a Pokédex wanted in, so I let her in. You want the same, get the same." The door to the GTS slid open, and someone exited. Seeing who it was, the Trainer said to Slifer, "There she is, ask her yourself."

At first, she didn't quite see who it was; the sun, though nearly set, was still sending its last rays over the horizon, obscuring her view of the girl. It was Dan who recognized her first: "Marisol? _"_

"What? _She's_ the 'Dex holder you were talking about?" Slifer directed at the guard. "She doesn't have a Pokédex! She was-"

" _Ahem._ " A slight clearing of the throat, almost imperceptible in the breeze.

She closed her eyes for a moment, and continued as if nothing happened, "-kicked out of the running for-"

" _Ahem._ " A little more insistent this time, meant to make way for more of one's words without the threat of being drowned out by others. With a small, coquettish smile gracing her heart-shaped face, she spoke:

"I sincerely hope I am not interrupting anything _too_ important, Jessica, but I would like to clear up any confusion you doubtless have on several matters before you slander my name unduly: the first, of course, being the matter of the Pokédex. As you can see-" she pulled out a model nearly identical to theirs, except it was slimmer, with a lurid pink heart decal on the cover "-mine is right here."

The two field operators immediately began talking at once:

"How did you even get-" "Rowan wouldn't have given you that after what you-"

"Please," Marisol interrupted again, "allow me to continue." Slifer had to physically stop Dan from talking back, and only had time to shoot a poisonous look at her before she resumed. "As you can see, this is a more recently developed Pokédex. Unfortunately, it is not able to link with yours, so I am afraid I will undergo this endeavor by myself. The second matter, as I'm sure you are dying to know, is how I obtained it. It is simple, really: I entered Professor Rowan's lab and asked for a Pokédex, and he gave it to me."

"Oh, for the love of-" "That is complete CRAP!"

"The third matter-" she began, only to be cut off by:

"The third matter is all you idiots need to do this somewhere else!" The guard had finally run out of patience; he had two more hours until his shift ended, and this strange group's pointless drama was not helping in the slightest.

"I'm getting sick of your smart mouth!" Dan exploded.

"And I'm sick of your face. Guess which one of us has the authority to punch it until it leaves," he said with a sneer, only to let out an undignified squeak when he felt a much bigger hand clasp on his shoulder. He turned to face over 200 pounds of Brazilian muscle in the form of Jimmy Blanka Hibiki. The normally gentle giant's face was worked into a fierce snarl that made the guard quail instantly. "I-I-I, er, um-"

"I'm going to ask you to **not** threaten my little brother," he growled, causing the Trainer to blink. _Brother?_ He looked him over: pale, orange-haired, and MASSIVE. He looked at his alleged brother: brown hair in a stringy ponytail, _m_ _uch_ smaller, andgenerally looking like an unimpressive karate rat in a pink gi. _Huh?_ Seeing his confusion, Jimmy amended, "Adoptive brother."

"Damn it, Jimmy, quit trying to fight my battles!" Dan said forcefully, to the surprise of everyone but Slifer. "I'm not a little kid! Besides, I can deal with this clown by myself." To his credit, Jimmy let go of the problematic Trainer and backed off without a fight, with only a small frown showing his feelings on the younger Hibiki's decision. Dan then turned his glare on the offending Trainer, who in the event of Jimmy's acquiescence had regained some of his swagger. "I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" Dan without a moment's hesitation, this time sparking protest from his older brother:

"Hold on! Dan, you became a Trainer a week ago; don't you think you should stick with what you're more…" he fished for an appropriate word, finally settling on " _familiar_ with? Wink wink, nudge nudge, etc.?" Dan's blank look made him groan with exasperation. "Just fight him!"

"But he's bigger than me!"

"Wha- but… how- he-" Jimmy kept like this for a while, brain temporarily misfiring. " _I'm_ bigger than you, and you fight me all the time!"

"Yeah, but you're _you_. You couldn't hurt anyone even if you wanted to, and you NEVER want to."

"You told me you've trained with Go since you could walk! How can you not handle yourself in a fight at this point?!"

"Because he sucks," Slifer interjected before Dan could respond. "Seriously, he lost to Cedric of all people in their blue belt test."

"Who's Cedric?" Jimmy asked, not completely privy to Dan's circle of friends.

"Barry Cedric, one of our… co-workers now, I suppose," she replied. "Blonde, striped sweater, acts like he bathes in caffeine every morning. He kicked you in the chest the first time you met, if I recall correctly."

"I remember at least two separate occasions where that happened. Which one was Barry's?"

"The one where you laughed immediately afterward."

"Aw man, I remember now! He _sucked_ back then! Frank Ettish kicked harder than him. Dan, how'd you lose to him?"

"He got better," he growled.

"Oh, so like Frank Ettish."

"And how do you even know about that?!" Dan shot at Slifer, who shrugged.

"Cedric gave the play-by-play to anyone who would listen, which, after the Rattata attack, was basically everyone."

"Seriously, you didn't know?" Jimmy asked. "I was barely in town the last few weeks, and I still heard it about a half-dozen times."

"Look, none of this is impo- wait. I thought you didn't know anything about that? Or him?" Dan said accusingly.

"Oh, I did," Jimmy owned up readily. "It'd be hard not to, for obvious reasons."

"Then why the hell did you play dumb!?"

"To let the joke happen."

"THE JOKE!?"

"Are you all quite done?" Marisol said flatly, entirely unamused by the exchange.

"Quiet, you," Slifer shot back without looking at her, instead focusing on Dan's frothing rage.

"Are we gonna battle, or are you gonna keep wasting time fizzling?"

"Quiet, you!" Dan shouted, and then, working through the other Trainer's question, continued with, "And yes!" Pulling out his Poké Ball, he tossed it into the air with a cry of, "Sora, let's show this loser what we're made of!" With a brilliant flash, the Snorunt plopped onto the field with a cry of "Snorunt!"

The Trainer blinked. "… Did it just say-"

""Snorunt", yeah," Dan confirmed. "Try not to think about it; you'll end up hurting yourself."

"…Whatever. Glalie, ice this fool!" The Trainer sent out his Pokémon, which was… odd, to say the least: it was a floating, partially iced-over sphere of rock about five and a half feet in diameter, with cool blue eyes, a pair of sharp, conical horns going upward and outward, and a mouth full of long, flat teeth. "This is Glalie, also known as the evolved form of Snorunt," he continued for the benefit of his flabbergasted opponent. "With him, this won't even take a minute."

"Well," Jimmy said, apparently taking on the role of referee for this battle, "if that's all from the both of you, how about we begin: Dan and Sora versus- who are you again?"

"Abel."

"-Abel and Glalie! Let the battle begin!"

"Sora, Double Team!" Dan said, already regretting a number of life choices. Seeing a fair number of copies pop up, he breathed just a little easier and said, "All right, you don't want to get too close to him, so for now use Powder Snow!" Though it obviously wouldn't do much against a Glalie, he figured a Bite would be too much of a risk for a comparatively meager reward. Sora agreed wholeheartedly, it seemed, because the next few seconds were filled with her spraying the Face Pokémon with snow from every direction until it was completely enveloped in a snowdrift save for its horns. "All right, that was… easier than expected," Dan said, caught a bit flat-footed by this development. "All right, go in for a Bite!"

"Gyro Ball," Abel yawned, checking his watch, but flicked his eyes up just in time to see the completely unharmed Glalie send snow and Sora flying with a high speed spin. Not stopping there, Glalie raced toward the only just recovered Snorunt, only to blaze through a Double Team copy and bounce off a building. "Ouch," the Ace winced in sympathy for his teetering Pokémon. "You all right?" An affirmative grunt eased his worries, and he continued, "then let's get rid of these copies! Use Bulldoze!"

Dan could only watch in confusion that quickly morphed into horror as Glalie jumped ten feet in the air, hovered for a moment, and slammed back into the ground as if shot from a cannon, destroying the street they were standing on.

After a moment of pure chaos, Abel righted himself and looked around: Glalie was floaying sheepishly over its own Glalie-sized impact crater, which was surrounded by roughly ten feet of broken asphalt and cement. Partially engulfed by a large pile was Sora, completely knocked out, while Dan was lying similarly unconscious in a ruptured water main. All around him, the other Trainers in attendance were dusting themselves off (except Marisol, who, miraculously, had got out of the way in time), and he heard a siren in the distance.

"Well, that was… unexpected," Jimmy said simply, having pulled himself and Slifer out first.

"But, it's one for the books," Slifer replied brightly; her tragic comedy played, she was definitely more cheerful than she was a mere five minutes ago.

"True. Let's pull Dan out of this and bail before the cops show up."

"Hold on a sec." She picked her way through the debris to the fallen Hibiki's prone form and pulled out his wallet. "Hey, Ahab!"

"It's _Abel_ ," the Trainer grunted before he was hit in the face by a bunch of coins; roughly half of Dan's money. "Your prize," Slifer said simply, before recalling Sora, picking up Dan's legs (Jimmy already had a hold of his shoulders by this time) and walked out of the impact zone with him. "And how about you think next time before letting off a move like that in a crowded city?" His retort was ignored as her and Dan's Pokédexes suddenly beeped in unison. Setting Hibiki down, she pulled hers out, and saw that the Bidoof page had been updated. _What? Who would update- could it be Barry?_ She selected the page, only to be faced with three sentences in red text:

We found Barry and Frigate. Meet us at the hospital. Dawn.

"The hospital?" she said breathlessly. "What happened?"

"What about a hospital?" Jimmy asked, confused.

"We were looking for Barry when you found us," she explained, a sick feeling blooming in her stomach. "At least, we were _supposed_ to be. Instead we just argued like always, and we completely forgot about it. We probably could've walked right past him at some point, and-" she threw her hands up in the air in disgust. "And now he's in a hospital! And maybe if we actually, I don't know, TRIED, we might've been able to help him!"

"Don't worry, Sly," Jimmy said reassuringly, throwing Dan over his shoulder. "Barry and Frigate are gonna be fine. Shoulda, coulda, woulda… that's not important right now. What's important is being there for your friends. Come on, I know a shortcut."

"O…okay, you lead the way." And with that, they raced off.

* * *

 _Let me talk to you about this chapter. Much of it was done over the past three days, thanks to writer's block and my job keeping me from my computer until well past midnight. And don't get me started on the characters! What the hell do I write for their dialogue?! I barely remember Street Fighter (where I got Dan and Jimmy [better known as Blanka] from) and I didn't get Slifer from anywhere! And then there's Marisol! I literally never planned for her in any sense, and that's saying something if that's notable in a story whose plot is flying by the seat of its pants! Do you know how hard it is to write a character who was only ever meant as a one-off joke_ that you never even planned in the first place!? _Because I do, and let me tell you, its no picnic! She's SUPPOSED to be a Parody Sue, but I'm constantly railing against that, because I can't write characters like that because I suck! So she exists as some sort of Mary Sue/ disgraced Alpha B!tch fusion that I'm deathly afraid will fall flat at the slightest provocation! Whatever. I'm done for now. Thanks for reading._


	14. General Nonsense!

_As usual, illness, work, and apathy made this take a lot later than it should've. As it is, enjoy for now... you won't for long... Wait, hold on._ **Looks through chapters.**

 _Before we get into all that madness, I think it's about time we take a look at an underrepresented element in these stories: the ships!_

 _...Nah, I'm just yanking your chain. I mean the Pokémon! This chapter, we're going to look at their adventures after a few days cooped up in either the Center or the hospital. Have fun!_

* * *

Chapter 14: General Nonsense!

 _Sir Aaron Hospital, 3rd Floor, September 24th, Noon_

"SCANNING… POSSIBLE POKÉMON DETECTED. VISUAL VERIFICATION REQUIRED FOR CONFIRMATION. …UNABLE TO VERIFY USING CONVENTIONAL VISION. SWITCHING TO INFRARED MODE. …PRESENCE CONFIRMED. POTENTIAL PSYCHIC ABILITIES EMPLOYED TO EVADE IDENTIFICATION. PREPARING COUNTERMEASURE: THUNDER WA-" Coro the Magnemite was interrupted by the passing Wukong clipping it in the side while evading Frigate's attempt to tag him.

"Oops, sorry, Coro! Better luck next time, Slowpoke!" the Chimp Pokemon called as he zoomed down the hallway, followed by the Piplup's cry of, "Wukong, you slippery snail, get back here!" as he chased him. Righting itself, Coro scanned the area in infrared again, revealing nothing. "POKÉMON… HAS LEFT THE IMMEDIATE AREA," it said with a near undetectable note of sheepishness. "FURTHER PATROLLING OF THE BUILDING REQUIRED." And with that, it floated down the hallway… in the opposite direction the other two starters went.

A safe distance away, an invisible Pokémon hummed to itself, amused, and hovered after the Magnemite silently.

* * *

 _2nd Floor, Noon_

"And lo and behold," Mistral said, holding up two scales to the bewilderment of his audience of four, "two for the price of one! Here you go, Garvey." He tossed the scales to the starstruck Gible, who nearly dropped them in his state of shock. "How'd ya _do_ that!?" he asked, his bewilderment only an exaggeration of what Atlas, a Houndour, and a Nidorina themselves felt.

"Magic, of course!" the Sneasel laughed, throwing his arm out in a grand gesture and releasing a spray of sparkles, earning himself a smattering of applause.

"I think he just took the scale from your back when he was steering you to the front," a female voice said. The other Pokémon shot the Nidorina sharp looks, but she only shook her head; it wasn't her. They all jumped when the voice piped up again, this time from above them: "Whoopsie! I guess I spoiled the trick! Sorry about that!" They looked up to see… nothing?

"Who… who's there?" Houndour asked uncertainly.

"Well, me, of course!" the voice supplied amiably. After a moment, she said, "Oh dear, am I invisible?"

"Yep yep!" Atlas said, causing a small, snorting laugh to ring through the hall.

"Silly me! I'm new at this," the voice continued. "Let me just…" A haze of blue vapor faded into being, a deep purple orb with a smiling face coalescing not long afterward; a Shiny Gastly. "There, is that better?"

"Loads, thanks," Mistral said drily, still somewhat peeved at her for ruining his performance.

"Oh, I really am sorry," Gastly said sincerely, large eyes downcast. "It's just, I've never seen a magic show before."

"Oh, I'm sure. Heckler."

"Come on, Mistral," Atlas said, seeing the Sneasel's standoffish nature assert itself, "she didn't mean it. Come on, give her another chance- Ow! Garvey, what are you doing?" Next to him, Garvey was whirling around, trying to see the spot where Mistral swiped the extra scale; it was near the center of his back, however, and seeing as he was mostly mouth, this was an abject impossibility. "I… c'n almost- GRAAOW!" he yelled as he tripped over himself for the third time. "Can one of you guys…"

"I can do it," Nidorina offered. Seeing the Gible's consternation, she assuaged him with, "Don't worry, I can't poison you with my paws."

"Well… okay, den." Feeling her poking smooth skin instead of scales, he wiggled a bit, ticklish. "So dat's where he got it from!" He thought for a moment. "But how'd you take it without me feelin' it?"

"I guess… magic?" Gastly said before laughing, and after a moment, she was joined by everyone else. "So, um, do you forgive me?"

The Sneasel made a show of thinking about it, before shrugging and saying, "Yeah, why not?"

"Great!" Atlas said, glad to see everyone getting along. "So, Gastly, you've really never seen a magic show before?"

"Nah, there was never enough time for anything like that where I was, especially for the last few years," she replied, drifting down to eye level. "It seems like I was missing out on a lot of fun, though."

"So, you aren't occupied now?" Atlas asked her.

"Nope, and I'm glad to say it!"

"Then you can stick around and see da show!" Garvey said.

"Weeeell, I don't know…" Gastly said archly, the mischievous light dancing in her eyes gave her away. "Does the great Mistral object to me staying?"

"There's always room in my show for one more audience member," Mistral declared grandly. "Have a seat." Gastly did so, being careful to sit away the non-Poison audience members, as well as keep her gas coiled about her as best she could. Clearing his throat, the Sneasel boomed, "I am Mistral, the walker of the deepest oceans, the tamer of wild dragonfire; the master of light and eater of shadows! I have witnessed a thousand truths, and uncovered a thousand lies! I have crushed mountains in the palm of my hand, and swam the length of a falling drop of rain! I have mastered the techniques of Legends, from the Wish Maker's Doom Desire-" white light suddenly blazed throughout the hallway, stunning the audience "-to the Creator's own Judgment!" He threw his paw into the air, and a loud _crack_ heralded a spray of yellow flares falling toward them. Applause and whoops met his ears as he swept into a low bow.

"Wow!" Ghastly said, honestly astounded. "That was… amazing!"

"Dat was so cool!" Garvey cried, starry-eyed.

"That was a neat trick, Mistral!" Atlas said, clapping his forelimbs together.

"This was a great show," Houndour yipped, "but we should get back to our Trainer. He'd want us to be there…"

"…Oh…" Mistral said awkwardly, realizing what he meant. "So you think…"

"We know," Nidorina said evenly. "It makes as much sense as anything; he was- _is_ old for a human. I just wish we could've known him for longer."

"Huh? Ya mean you guys haven't been wit him for long?" Garvey asked.

"No, actually," Houndour replied. "He caught us barely a year ago. He said he had a bad accident years before that, so he caught us to help him out when the pain got too bad."

"Ah. Well, we shouldn't keep you any longer," Atlas said somberly, extending his foreleg. "Till we meet again."

"Till we meet again." "Hope to see you soon." The two shook the Turtwig's offered limb with a smile, before taking their leave. Looking away, he caught sight of Gastly. "Hey, Gastly, are you alright?"

"Uh, y-yep! Why do you ask?" she said, not quite meeting his eye.

"Well, you're kind of… vibrating?"

"Am I?" she said absently, looking after the departing pair. Coming to a decision, she rose into the air and began to follow them. Garvey began to call out to her, only to be stopped by a super-sized cork finding its way into his mouth courtesy of Mistral.

"Bfff…k… whhh?" the Gible managed to choke out before Mistral _shush_ ed him quiet again.

"Nothing's gonna come of it if we just yell at her!" he hissed, pulling out the cork. "If we want to know what's going on, we've gotta trail them."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Atlas quickly whispered, "what's this _we_ business about? And more importantly, what's this about trailing them? We are NOT intruding on them."

"Gastly is," Garvey pointed out.

"Regardless!" He turned to the Sneasel, saying, "Mistral, it's only going to go badly- Mistral?"

"You can't stop me!" came the hissed reply. Looking up, Atlas saw the rapidly retreating Mistral gripping to the ceiling with his claws, doggedly following the now trio. With a groan and a look at Garvey, Atlas trotted after the increasingly odd group, the Gible following suit a moment later.

XxXxX

"So…" Nidorina trailed off, trying to find a new topic; Gastly had finally struck up a conversation with the duo some time ago, but they had already exhausted the few topics available. "What's it like? Being a Ghastly, I mean," she finally said with a shrug.

"Oh, it's great, believe me!" the Ghost type replied happily. "I can hover and turn invisible, and I move so much faster than before-" she stopped herself suddenly, looking away awkwardly.

"Hm? Before wha-" Nidorina said before she caught Houndour's pointed look. "O-oh, I'm sorry!"

"No, no, it's all right." Gastly shook herself quickly before making a loop de loop. "Woo! Alrighty, back to base!" To her delight, the pair giggled at her antics.

"You certainly are different for a Gastly, if you don't mind me saying," Nidorina said.

"Not at all! I'm just glad I can make you laugh!"

"Your voice is especially distinctive," Houndour said, continuing the train of thought. "Every other Gastly I met had a very, well, ghastly voice. Yours sounds… normal, I suppose."

"Well, I am a new Gastly, after all," she said blithely, unaware of her listeners' shared look of surprise.

"What do you mean by old?" Nidorina asked, confused. "Back at the magic show you said you never had the time to go to one, especially for the last few _years_. Is that new for a Gastly?"

"I wouldn't know," came the glib reply. "I've only been a Gastly for about an hour now."

"W-what?" the pair stuttered. Houndour recovered first, shaking his head and blurting out, "You mean you just... died!? Here, in the hospital? You'd have to have been a human before now, right? That should be impossible!"

"Well it's definitely macabre," Nidorina said plainly. "We should keep going; our Trainer's room is up ahead."

"Alright, lead the-"

"CODE BLUE IN ROOM 236. CODE BLUE IN ROOM 236."

With a crackle and a pop, the speaker turned off, and for a moment, none of the Pokémon could speak. It was Nidorina who finally whispered, "That's our Trainer's room number, isn't it?"

Houndour nodded. "What do they mean by Code Blue?"

"Whatever it means, people are already heading over there," she replied, walking forward. The small troupe reached the room in silence, but hesitated at the door. Nidorina breathed in deep, steeling herself for what she felt was necessary, but a small _thud_ from behind startled her. Whirling around, she saw the trio of starters, with the magician at the lead rubbing his head where he fell on it from his perch on the ceiling. "What are you three doing here?" she said, not sure whether to be bothered by their being followed, annoyed at their intrusion on the whole, or strangely relieved for more Pokémon being there.

"We're sorry for intruding on you all, especially now," the Turtwig said, appropriately contrite. "It's just, we were confused because Gastly was following you since she was more or less a stranger (no offense), and when we saw she was just keeping your spirits up, we were going to head off and go back to our own Trainers-"

"But Mistral was stuck goin' one way on da ceiling!" the Gible, Garvey if she recalled correctly, continued. "So we were debatin' whether or not we were gonna join up wit you guys for real-"

"But by the time we came to that decision, the message had already rang," Mistral finished, "so it would've been really awkward. As it is…" the Starters made to leave, only to be stopped by a voice coming from the room: "So who found him?"

Two scrubs-garbed orderlies exited, the second replying, "The new guy, Chad."

The first one snorted as they continued down the hall the opposite direction the Pokémon stood. "Freakin' Chad? Bet he cried, the wuss, 'specially since the guy was like that for an hour now. What did him in, anyway?"

"Chart said Bacterial Pneumonia."

"Crease, the poor bastard," the orderly said, shaking his head. "Always a bad way to go…" The orderlies' conversation continued even as they finally exited hearing range, leaving the hall a tomb of heavy, silent emotions. After a long while, Houndour whispered, "So that's it, then. We weren't even there; he was gone since a few minutes after we left. That's how it works now?" The air shimmered, the heat emanating from him driving back everyone but Gastly, who instead did her best to approach, despite the fact that, due to her being largely formed of gas, she was extremely susceptible to being carried off by the rapidly heating air. "Houndour-" the Shiny Pokémon began, but the Dark Type's snarl cut her off, grief and anger feeding meanness: "I don't want your pity!"

"I'm not trying to-"

"Why don't you just go off and enjoy being a Ghost alone!" He turned away and loped off, ignoring Nidorina's cry of "Houndour, come back!" The Poison Type turned to Gastly and said, "I'm sorry, Gastly. He's hurting right now; we both are. I should follow him."

"I'll go with you," Gastly said instantly.

"We'll come, too!" Garvey said, Mistral and Atlas nodding along, but Nidorina only shook her head.

"He won't want to see anyone else," she explained sadly. "Houndour's actually a very solitary Pokémon; anytime he was like this in the past, he'd only see me or our Trainer. Since… since it's just me now, I really ought to be there."

"But I-" Gastly tried to say, only for Nidorina to stop her: "Look, I really am grateful for everything you've done so far, and I know Houndour is too, even if he won't admit it now. But this is something we need to work through ourselves." She left at an appreciable speed after her friend, leaving Gastly and the Starters downcast.

"…I… suppose we should go back to our Trainers now," Garvey said, uncharacteristically doleful. They began to make their own exit, when Gastly said, "They're both hurting so much…"

"True, but it's nothing we can fix," Atlas said reasonably. "Come on, Gastly, it doesn't pay to try and fix someone else's problem, especially when they're the only who should."

"But _I_ -" she groaned aloud. "I shouldn't have left it as long as I have! It was just, how do you even bring it up!?"

"Gastly, what are you talking about?"

She told them.

"No, seriously."

It took a few more minutes before the Starters were convinced, but when they were, they were all business. "We have to find them now, then, so you can tell them!" Mistral said, glad that there was something they could do.

"B-but what do I even say?" Gastly said, suddenly hesitant.

"That's something you can figure out on the way," he insisted. "Now come on."

* * *

 _3rd Floor, Afternoon_

"Well, thanks again, Mr. Looker," Dawn sighed, tossing her empty bottle into the trash can.

"Just 'Looker' is fine," the Interpol agent said, staring resolutely out the window, "and you must not be so discouraged already. After all, it has only been a few days; the local police force is scouring the area for a possible hideout even now. As it is, I should return to the field myself to lend my expertise, but before that, I would like to run a few theories by you."

"Okay," Dawn said readily, but was nonetheless confused.

"The attack on your friend seemed to be completely random, an unfortunate consequence of his and his attackers' paths intersecting; in short, he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. From what Barry heard, these two, a Gardevoir and a Lucario, are in turn looking for an as yet unrevealed third member of their team, CBB. There are many questions: What does CBB stand for? Who is this third Pokémon? Where is it? When and why did it leave? What is this team's purpose? Where did they come from, and where did they go? We don't know for sure yet, but I may have a lead." He pulled out a photograph and handed it to her. Looking at it, it seemed to be a somewhat blurry shot of the beach. The significant part was two figures off-center, one walking away from the other. The second was wearing a black longcoat and an angular, metallic _jingasa_ of the same color; decidedly not beachwear. The figure exiting the scene was wearing a similar hat, but had apparently forgone the longcoat in lieu of a light jacket. From what she could tell, they were both human, and probably male. "This was taken on the day of the attack," Looker continued, "in Sandgem Beach. It was taken by a young girl about your age, a Ms. Marisol Elaine. I feel these individuals may be connected to this Team CBB."

Now Dawn was _really_ confused. "Not to be rude, Mr.- I mean, Looker, but this is just a photograph. I know these guys look weird, but we don't know anything else about them; shouldn't we have a bit more information before we start trying to collar suspects?"

"That is indeed true," Looker replied. "Normally, a photograph of odd individuals is in no way enough evidence, especially when they were in an entirely different city then the one the attack took place. But! I have a feeling, a very _odd_ feeling when I look at this photograph." He tucked away said photograph and began to pace, lost in his thought process. Dawn followed the agent as his erratic tic took him to the stairwell. "When I first laid eyes on the photo, specifically the young man standing still, my first thought was, "This, this cannot be!". But why would I think that? It was not because of his clothes; I have seen odder, in much odder climes. Nor was it because I recognized him; indeed, you cannot make out any features in the picture. No, I had the distinct sensation that this individual should not exist at all, at least, not in the way he appeared; a feeling of **Wrongness** , I suppose you could call it. It was unnerving, to say the least. But still, that alone was not enough." He opened the door in front of them automatically, allowing her to go through first, before continuing, "After some digging, I got my hands on a few reports. These reports told of nothing special, merely petty crimes of a sort: loitering, disturbing the peace, assault. What was important, however, was that the description of the person in question all match up: Black male, late teens, in a black longcoat with silver buttons and a metal _kasa_. It seems to fit the individual in the photo quite nicely- one Chicken Parmesan, please," he said to the serving lady, who nodded before asking for the now entirely bemused teenager for her order. "Same, and a water," she decided with a shrug.

"I would also like a coffee with mine," Looker added. A few minutes later they were seated with their lunches, and Looker continued between bites of his meal, "Thankfully, the last report was not from a witness, but rather an arrest. The name he gave, it did not match anywhere, but it is one he apparently uses, so we will work with it for now: Jasper Ole Wells."

"Jasper Ole Wells…" Dawn said, feeling out the words. "That's unusual."

"Indeed. Jasper is a name more common in the American South, while Ole isn't typically a name at all; it is a word from the Alolan language meaning "Zero" or "Nothingness". Perhaps that says something about his state of mind if he indeed chose that name himself to identify by. Whatever his purpose here, it is apparently over and done with, as he hasn't been seen since." He took a swig of his coffee, waiting for Dawn's response. Finishing her lunch, she frowned. "All this is very interesting, and I'm sure it's important, but I meant to ask before: Looker, why tell me all of this? What can I do with this?"

"Ah yes, I thought you would ask me this question. After all, you are a rookie Trainer new to the wide world. And yet I chose to make you privy to information regarding an ongoing case. Why? The answer is simple: I had another feeling." Seeing the look on her face, he quickly clarified, "Understand me, I do not mean the same feeling! It was quite different, I assure you. This feeling, it told me, "This girl is one you can trust!". It may seem odd to you, but when I have a feeling, I usually follow it, and it often turns out for the best." The agent dumped the remains of his meal and began walking again. Doing the same, she followed him.

* * *

 _I've noticed that I end a lot of my chapters with someone following someone else. Oh well. What to say now? I guess the most important thing is that none of these little plotlines are finished yet; they will be concluded next chapter, which will themselves have mostly different perspectives._

 _In other news, I'm going to do something different: I will change this story's rating to T. That normally means three things on this site: Hyperviolence, slightly sexual themes (or just romantic themes if it's a gay pairing), and a_ whole _lot of language. But I'm going to do something a SMIDGE different: everything's basically going to be exactly the same, but I'm going to monitor my language a bit more. You won't hear anything stronger than "crap" from this fic, no siree Bob, not even a frick._

 _ **But**. _

_But. Once a moon or so, I'm gonna drop a fresh, shiny F-bomb, just to add a bit of emphasis to a character's sentiment, whether dramatic, comedic, or some strange fusion of the two. If you think it's weird that I'm doing this, give it a chance for a few chapters. If it's still not to your liking, just tell me in a review along with any other thoughts on how I might improve the story. That's it for now, so Follow, Favorite, and Review, and, as always, Thanks for reading._


	15. General Nonsense! Part 2

Holy crap, I have 1000 views on this story! Thank you, everyone who has read so far, so much! Here's the chapter, a little late because of several deadlines I'm working against currently in my life. Enjoy!

General Nonsense! Part 2

 _Inner Courtyard, Afternoon_

Sora was in a very bad mood at the moment. Since they were deemed 100% healed, she and Dan were training with the similarly recovered Frigate and Barry, until Wukong the Chimchar came out of nowhere and body slammed her opponent with a cry of "Flying Press!". Obviously, the bold Piplup wouldn't take such a thing lying down, and began to chase him, making his Pokémon Trainer short a Pokémon. Barry tried to see if the Pokémon he caught before were up to a battle, but then the rude redheaded girl came out of nowhere to chatter on about their pointless bet and, for no reason whatsoever, Barry decided to listen to her, and so went off to find Frigate. With them together, it was only a matter of a seconds before Dan and her got to arguing, and so, finally fed up with the day, Sora went off alone to train by herself, but before long was interrupted by a very loud shouting match between a Houndour and a Nidorina. With this latest development, she finally gave up the ghost, sat down on a nearby bench and watched the drama unfold from a safe distance away.

As it was, it was relatively interesting once she stopped caring about how she got there; Houndour was barking mad (pun Absol-utely intended), clearly broken up about something they didn't really go into detail about, but she assumed was their Trainer being injured. While he was trying to shout Nidorina off, Nidorina was alternating between comforting and guilting him into calming down in an expert manner. From this end, Sora could see that the Poison-type was a very good talker, and probably carried that ability into battle. It had little impact on Houndour, though. It was clear he either knew it was manipulation or was simply too angry to be effected. It finally came to a head when Houndour roared an ultimatum: either Nidorina left, or he would attack. The challenged's skeptical look was matched by the watcher's, until both's were wiped off by the ball of sickly orange flames forming between his jaws.

"Everyone calm down!" Everyone turned to see a small horde of Pokémon rushing toward them. With a start, Sora recognized Mistral, Atlas, Garvey, and a sparkly blue Gastly unfamiliar to her, and she finally decided to join in to get the full story. They all converged at the same time, and the other three Starters began talking at once:

"Houndour, I don't wanna tell you to calm down, but-"

"You guys don't hafta fight! Ya see-"

"Are you crazy?! She's your partner, you don't-"

"I told all of you to BEAT IT!" Houndour roared, before blasting the troupe with a wide bore Flamethrower, driving them all back. _He knows Flamethrower, eh?_ Sora thought to herself, before diving back in just behind Garvey; Atlas and Mistral were the closest to theattack, and so were the most effected. _This'll be tricky, then._

Houndour cloaked himself in flames and rushed the most immediate threat to him, the Dragon/Ground Type with jaws large enough for him to rest within comfortably. Garvey sped up to meet his opponent's Flame Charge, but Houndour bunched up his legs and leapt right over him at the last second, leaving him to trying to whirl around to keep his back from him, sending the Gible tumbling when he inevitably overbalanced; as one could guess, a Pokémon who's anatomy was composed mostly of mouth was extremely ungainly. He just managed to clamber to his feet when Houndour shouted, "BEAT UP!"

"The heck you mean "Beat Up"?" Gible mumbled, and got his answer when a flare of black energy billowed from the Dark Type. A surprised shriek from Nidorina alerted everyone to the second flare that came from her. It streaked toward the combatants until it rested next to Houndour's flare. With a _crack!_ , the flares twisted themselves into smoky black copies of the two Pokémon. A bark from Houndour sent the simulacra at the stunned Garvey, the Nidorina skating behind him and kicking into the air, and the Houndour slamming him back down into the dirt. With that, the copies dissipated, the leftover smoke blown back by Houndour's Flame Charge. He was nearly upon the weakened Dragon when a Powder Snow and Icy Wind from Sora and Mistral respectively hit both sides of him simultaneously, stopping him dead in his tracks in his scramble to stay upright.

"Are you alright, Mistral?" she asked, keeping an eye on the increasingly twitchy Houndour.

"Yeah," the Sneasel replied grimly. "Me and Atlas would've been a lot worse if it hadn't been for Gastly; she shielded us from the worst of it."

"Where is Gastly?" Sora asked, suddenly realizing she hadn't seen the Ghost Type since the Flamethrower hit.

Sneasel breathed in. "…I haven't seen her. I don't know if she got scared off by the fire, or if she's just too hurt to continue. Either way, we've got Houndour to deal wi- wait, what the hell?!"

Sora snapped her focus to Houndour completely, and choked: the Dark Pokémon was now entirely cloaked in a malevolent aura of jet-black shadows, and was sounding out a silent but furious howl. "W-w-w-what _is_ this!?" she stammered, as the wind picked up in a whirling cyclone around the courtyard.

"Get ready!" Atlas said, joining them, along with the somewhat recovered Garvey and Nidorina; Gastly, unfortunately, was still missing. "He's gonna do something big!"

"What's wrong with him!?" Nidorina shouted, horror evident in her voice and face as she watched her companion rage and snarl at them, maddened beyond reason.

"I don't know," the Turtwig replied, "but here he comes!"

" **SHADOW BREAK.** "

* * *

 _3rd Floor, Afternoon_

 _DOOOOOMMMM!_

"What the hell was that!?" Barry yelled, leaping out of bed and running to the window. Peering out at the inner courtyard, he saw a Houndour climbing out of hole in the wall, and a group of Pokémon slowly approaching, only to scatter when it spat out a bullet of black fire that exploded into a maelstrom of shadowy flame. Raging furiously for a moment, it subsided almost instantly, but left huge tracts of scorched cement and charred grass, though it missed the lone tree in the courtyard completely. Showing an almost complete lack of self preservation, the other Pokémon, who Barry recognized as being comprised of mostly his friends', rushed Houndour again. The immediate result of that was lost to history, however, as Barry was already taking the stairs down three at a time, nearly tripping over a prone hospital policeman. Once he made it to the ground floor, though, he could see it hadn't gone well: both Mistral and Garvey were out of the fight, and Sora was nearly at her limit as well. The only ones really left standing were the Houndour (obviously), who seemed to be snapping at mad hornets only it could see, a Nidorina who seemed to be talking to Houndour to no effect, and Lucas's Turtwig, Atlas. _Man, I really should've looked for Frigate before I came here,_ Barry thought, before shrugging and saying, "HEY, DOGBREATH!"

The Houndour wasted no time once it spotted him, immediately lunging forward jaws snapping. Barry timed his duck correctly, letting the enraged Pokémon sail over his head smoothly, but then had to run for cover when it let launched another flare of black fire. An idea striking him, he climbed up the tree, watching Houndour leap and try to bite him to no avail. "Okay, brain," Barry said to himself, "I'm in the tree. What now?"

 _Well, you could always call for help,_ he replied… to himself.

"Yeah, I guess, but shouldn't there be people here by now anyhow? Hospital staff, police, whatever?"

 _Remember that Officer on the stairs you jumped over? He could've been the guy they sent to solve it._

"Sure, but he fell down or something when Houndour hit the building! He's not gonna help."

 _How did Houndour's hit cause him to fall?_ Barry's brain mused. _There wasn't much shaking from where you were laying, and you were much closer. Unless he was doing something incredibly unsafe when it happened, he shouldn't have been hurt much at all._

"Who cares! He's out of it anyhow, and I still have to deal with this thing! _Man_ , I wish Frigate was here. Eep!" he yelped as Houndour finally latched onto one of his shoes. "Ow! Get off me, you mutt!" he yelled, flailing his leg wildly. Houndour was hanging on for all it was worth, though, and would not be so easily rid of. Barry then decided to go about it a bit more intelligently. Wriggling his leg all the while, he pulled off a nearby stick and, very carefully, stuck it inside his sneaker, whittling around. "C'mon, c'mon… aha!" he cried, as he finally pulled it off, sending it and Houndour to the foot of the tree.

"Good work, Brain!"

 _You're welcome._

"So now what?"

 _Well, apart from calling for help-_

"Yes, yes, call for help, but what else?"

 _Cheeky little- Just hang on, then._

"That's it? Just hang on?"

 _Like Mom to a grudge._

"Hey, do you think that's why Dad's never around much?"

 _This is not the time to deal with family issues!_

"Then why'd you bring 'em up in the first place!?"

 _I was just-_

DOOM!

"The hell was that!" Barry cried, looking down at the Houndour. As he watched, the Pokémon appeared to Headbutt the tree, except when it impacted, it released a powerful burst of shadowy energy, causing major damage to the trunk. As it was, after only two hits, Barry's perch was already creaking worryingly, and was beginning to sway; it definitely didn't have the strength to withstand another hit. "Okay, Brain… what now?"

 _Call for help, dammit!_

"Alright, you don't have to shout at me!" Breathing in deep, he hollered at the top of his lungs, "HEY! ANYBODY?! I NEED A LITTLE HELP HERE!"

DOOM!

"MAKE THAT A LOT OF HELP!" he amended, hanging on for dear life as the tree tilted crazily, and stayed there. Houndour let out a confused ruff before shaking his head and growling menacingly, backing up considerably for a good running start. "GUYS, SERIOUSLY!" Barry shouted as he climbed as far up as he was able, lamenting the fact that he was too far away from the windows to jump for them. "THIS IS STARTING TO GET A LITTLE TOO MUCH TO HANDLE ALONE, SO I COULD USE SOME _HELP!_ "

 _WHERE IS EVERYBODY?!_

"I don't know, ask them!" A low roar alerted the boy to Houndour, who began to charge the tree. Going for broke, he jumped to the side, rolling on the grass as the tree trunk essentially exploded from Houndour's impact. With one last snap, the tree fell over, and Houndour began to search its leafy boughs. Popping back up, Barry noticed movement from the corner of his eye, and turned to see a small, blue shape waddling toward him with all haste: Frigate had finally arrived. "Alright," Barry said, "let's go, Frigate! We gotta take this guy out before he takes out something important!" Frigate peeped in agreement, but shrieked when Houndour burst out of the tree again with a fierce snarl, looking around the courtyard wildly in search of him. Finally catching the Trainer and his Pokémon, it let out a howl and charged again.

"Frigate, jump over it and use Rain Dance!" Barry called, making the most of of his father's most recent visit with the move he taught to the Water Type. Using a burst of water for a small but needed boost, Frigate cleared Houndour with little room to spare, landing on one foot and spinning rapidly. Turning around, Houndour rushed the Frigate again, but the Piplup only dodged with a little jump to the left and began an odd dance: flippers out to the side, he began skipping forwards and backwards, stomping to a beat only he could hear. Finally he looked to the sky and shot a bullet of water straight up. In moments, a low cloud formed, and it began to rain.

Doing his best to ignore Houndour's whimper of dismay, Barry called, "Okay, Frigate, use Bubble!" Staying true to his training, Frigate dodged Houndour's Shadow Fire and shot a thick froth of bubbles in return, which enveloped Houndour before popping all at once, jarring the Dark Pokémon painfully, or so its panicked yips implied. Shaking itself, it let loose another Shadow Fire, which Frigate leapt clear of again, continuing to fire off Bubbles at his opponent. "Keep it up, buddy!" was Barry's only real contribution as this happened, instead watching as two people entered the courtyard and ran through the quickly forming cloud of smoke to reach him.

"Barry!" Dawn shouted as she and Looker reached him. "Are you alright! What happened?"

"It's a Houndour," Barry began, before stopping to squeeze the fabric of his shirt to get rid of the excess water weighing him down. "Man, this rain is crazy fierce!"

"Barry, focus! What about a Houndour?"

"Right, so a Houndour was just going crazy and attacking Pokémon left and right in here, so I decided to grab its attention by shouting at it, so then it chased me for a bit, and then it shot at me with a Fire move, but it wasn't anything I've ever seen before, ya know? It was all purple and shadowy, and when it hit the ground it just exploded with a big BOOM!" A resounding _boom_ echoed his words as another Shadow Fire missed and exploded against the ground, unleashing another black-and-purple firestorm as before, though this one was even smaller than the last; Houndour was tiring out, and fast. "Then Frigate came when I called for help and we battled for a while, and then you guys showed up."

"That's… great, actually," Dawn said; she honestly expected more of a calamity from all the explosions.

"Barry," Looker said suddenly, looking around, "you mentioned that this Houndour was fighting other Pokémon. Where are they now?"

"Huh?" Barry blanked for a moment, before jumping to attention with a shout of, "Oh crap, I forgot all about them! Um, Atlas! Sora! Mistral! Other… uh, 'Mon! Where are you?" He made to run off, but Dawn grabbed his sleeve.

"Hold on, you still have a battle!" she reminded him. "You deal with Houndour, I'll find the Pokémon! Wukong, help me out!" The Chimchar burst out with a yowl and crouched low to the ground to sniff it. After a moment, however, he shook his head; the rain, though petering off at this point, had already washed away any scent in the area. "Let's just search by sight, then! C'mon!" she said, moving on ahead. With a hoot of agreement, Wukong followed, occasionally peeking through broken windows and gaps in the wall opened up by Houndour's fury.

"Barry." He started as Looker spoke again and looked to the man. After a moment of silence, he asked, "At first glance, the Houndour you are fighting didn't seem any different from any other, correct?"

"Well, yeah," Barry answered, a bit confused by the question, "but then it start doing exploding Headbutts and shooting black stuff that… exploded. Again. What about it? Frigate, jump straight up and use Pound!" A hefty _Whack!_ And a yelp of pain graced his ears as Frigate did exactly that. "Yeah! Sorry, you were saying?"

"I have heard about this phenomenon, but the report was very much lacking in details, much like Wells'. It seems I will have to make two trips, one especially lengthy in terms of travel…"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Barry said, before a Shadow Fire flew past his head and smacked against the wall with a CRASH, which sent the two humans diving to the floor. "Frigate, Rain Dance again!" A minute later, the patter of rain graced his ears (and hair) once again. He leapt to his feet as if recharged, and helped the older Looker up as well. "What about a report?" he continued.

"Yes, yes, the report," the International Police agent replied absently, brushing mud off his coat. "Some time ago, I had come across a news report from some years previous. It was from the Orre Region, in the American Southwest. It spoke of a criminal team called Cipher, and their attempt to take over the region with "Shadow Pokémon", Pokémon that have been corrupted by way of a machine. They were stronger than normal Pokémon, and were much more aggressive. The report didn't have much else, except that Cipher was defeated by a member of a rival team; this story's accuracy really must be verified in person!"

"Ummm…"

"Yes, after this matter is concluded, I shall find out the details, specifically how a Pokémon is corrupted. The report mentioned a machine, and yet, Houndour seems to have become one out of nowhere! Truly, there are many questions that need to be answered, and answers already provided that need to be expanded upon!"

"Yeah…"

"Hey, guys!" Dawn's voice rang out. "I think I found a- Ack!"

"What? Ack? What did she mean by-" Looker said before realizing what had to have happened. "Oh no! Barry!"

"What's the matter- crap! FRIGATE, BEHIND YOU!" The Piplup immediately dodged, but Nidorina's Double Kick got him in the side even as he tried to spin out of range, knocking him down and, miraculously, behind the tree and out of Houndour's sight. Barry sighed in relief, and he heard Looker do the same behind him… before he fell to the ground with a _wumph_. "Looker?" he asked, turning around, only to come face to face with…

"A blue Gastly?" he pondered, clear forgetting what he was doing earlier. "I thought Gastly were purple… well, your head is purple, but that's not what I meant. I meant your gas or vapor or whatever. So where'd you come from? Do you have a Trainer? Is anyone showing up finally-" the Gastly floated past his head, a few wisps of gas getting in his nose. "Ah-ah-aaaaaaa-CHOO! Did you really have to do… thaaaaa…" he didn't even feel himself hit the floor.

* * *

"…dour! Houndour!" He finally heard the words through the noise: the Pokémon was calling him, Houndour. _That's… who I am, right?_ _Houndour? Then who… is she?_ Those thoughts, however, were carried away by the tide of rage that swept over him again, leaving him with nothing but a burning need to tear apart everything in sight. It was different than before, however; while before he could barely chain together a rational thought, this time his anger was much colder and easier to see through, allowing him to think… and remember.

"I told you to get out of my sight!" he gasped hollowly; despite the rage welling within him, he was far too exhausted from the battle he went through to put any real venom in his voice.

"Houndour, please, just stop fighting! You're going to get hurt if you keep going like this!"

"Please listen to her, Houndour!" Atlas said, walking to her side stiffly; even after a short rest, the injuries he sustained before were still very painful. "We're your friends here."

"You, too?!" Houndour snarled; despite everything, he was _still_ there, and he could see more of them approaching: the magician, the big-mouth, and the one that was in the courtyard first. "All of you, just… stop… interfering… with me!" He managed to let loose another Shadow Fire, which scattered them for a moment, though it was clear it was going to be the last one for a while. He felt his hind legs sink to the ground, unable to hold his weight anymore, and his breathing became even shakier. Closing his eyes, he let himself lie down completely.

"Houndour…" Nidorina approached him and, when he didn't answer, knelt down beside him. "It's okay, it's gonna be alright…"

"How," he replied flatly. "Our Trainer's dead."

"Larry Fassbender." Everyone looked up to see the speaker floating above them.

"Gastly…" Nidorina said, glad but nonetheless surprised to see her again.

"Yeah, that was his name," Houndour said tiredly. "Never heard him use his first name much, though. What about it?"

She closed her eyes and her fog expanded a bit before shrinking back to normal; an approximation of a deep breath. "Yeah… I never liked using it much."

The silence lasted until the rain stopped.

"What."

"You'll have questions… and threats," Gastly said quickly, but was cut off all the same:

" **SHADOW FIRE!** " His renewed anger was enough to power another blast of the black inferno. Of course, he almost instantly regretted it as a wave of weakness washed over him and sunk deep into his bones.

"Please, guys, listen!" Gastly said, having dodged the projectile. "I know you don't believe me, but please, let me explain-"

Nidorina reared up, fire in her eyes. "Gastly, I don't know what you're trying to pull, but you're out of line! Just go!"

"Nidorina, Gastly's tellin' the truth!" Garvey cried, before amending, "At least, I think so! She made a really good case is what I'm saying!"

"What he said," Mistral added, leaning on Atlas haggardly. "Look, if we didn't think it was worth considering, we wouldn't be talking about it, now would we?"

"If you wanna go-" Houndour began hotly, only to be cut off by Mistral again: "Please. I might be barely standing, but barely's still more than what you can manage."

"Please don't fight." Gastly's voice was a bit… not hard, per se, but rather authoritative as she sank to about eye level. Another "breath", and she continued, "Houndour. Nidorina. I can prove it to you. At home, on top of the mantle in the living room, lies a journal."

"Anyone could've seen that from visiting-"

"But I'm only an hour old, remember? So unless I'm playing a long game for some reason involving your Trainer, that's impossible. And allow me to explain why that's not true, either! When you look inside the journal, you would see that its not only blank, but hollowed out. Inside the hollow space is a small, metal cylinder. Or, there would be, _if I hadn't brought it with me to the hospital._ As you can tell, all this information would be quite accessible to any reasonably snoopy individual… at least, those with hands!" Seeing Nidorina open her mouth, she quickly said, "Oh, no, I'm not QUITE done yet! That's everything _you_ know about it, But everything _I_ know is yet to be revealed! You see," she made a sharp gesture, and Mistral wordlessly pulled out a smooth, gray object; they had collected the cylinder from the late Fassbender's… person, "this cylinder is sealed, but not for long! Houndour, you can probably Bite it open after a time, but until you do that, I'll tell you what's inside: First and foremost is a collapsed Poké Ball with a purple top and an "M" on it. It was my, um, retirement gift from corporate after the incident. The second is a rolled up scrap of old paper. Written on it are several letters from an ancient script that developed into modern writing. I always meant to go to Johto and the Ruins of Alph, but the incident put a damper on that idea, and the whole "Kanto Invasion" and subsequent quarantine by Sinnoh killed it off for good. The third and final thing… is a photograph of me and my first ex-wife." She shrugged. "A bit anticlimactic, sure, but it's very important to me. All in all, these things make up my Regrets Jar: they're all things that remind me of events I wished I could have changed somehow, but now have to carry forever." She chuckled to herself hollowly. "I should probably find a memento for today, too, am I right?"

 _Crack!_ Houndour finally opened the cylinder, revealing: a purple and white Poké Ball with an "M" inscribed on top; a scrap of paper, yellowed with age, which depicted a set of odd, bulbous symbols; and a faded photograph of a tall, thin man with glasses and a very large woman with straight black hair falling well past her shoulders."Then… if that's true, then…" the wreaths of darkness flickered, before vanishing completely. Houndour looked up to Gastly, eyes wide as a child's, and whispered, " _Larry?_ "

"Well, Gastly now," she replied with a small chuckle, before turning serious again. "I'm sorry I let all this happen. I didn't know anything like this _could_ happen."

"Why would you hold it off as long as you did?" Nidorina asked, her tone hard. "Why sit on this?"

"I-I… well…" Gastly said, obviously flustered. Atlas began to chip in, but Nidorina's glare dried up the words in his throat.

"I don't need your input. I want to hear from her. Or him, as it were."

"…Well, do you hear me?" she finally said. "I have to sound ridiculous to you. Besides, I'm, you know, a Pokémon. I figured that I'd talk to you at first, and… broach the subject?" She shrugged again. "I didn't really have a plan! Everything happened so fast! I needed time to make sense of it all, but I was just thrown into all of it." Gastly deflated further, her gas condensed enough that she was the smallest Pokémon there. "Please, I meant to tell you, and I did stop the situation from getting out of hand."

"What do you mean?" Houndour asked, getting on all fours tentatively.

A crafty look passed over her face. "I mean you would've been swarmed by hospital staff from the beginning if I hadn't done something about it."

"Wait, you mean-" Garvey said at the same time Nidorina said, "You mean when you were chased off by the Flamethrower-"

"I was giving everyone who came downstairs some sleeping gas," the Ghost type said proudly. "And don't worry, I was extremely careful while I did it. The downside of that is that they should be waking up right about…"

"Hey! What's going on in here- gods above, below, and sideways, what happened?!"

"-Now," she finished simply. "So we ought to go."

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Houndour said, making for a window, but not before bowing his head to the other Pokémon. "Thanks for helping me see the truth… and sorry for beating on you so badly."

"Not the way I remember it…" Garvey muttered to himself, while everyone else gave their forgiveness and congratulations quickly.

"Well, that's that, I guess-" Gastly said.

"Growlithe!" the Officer yelled, releasing two of the Puppy Pokémon. "Don't let any of them get away!"

"Except for that!" Houndour corrected.

"Scatter!" Nidorina yelled, and the group broke for the exits with barking Growlithe hot on their tails.

XxXxX

"I think we lost them," Gastly finally said. The trio had made it out of the city, and were watching the sun set from a cliff south of Floaroma Town. "So, what should we go now?"

"Let's just go home for now," Nidorina said happily. "If we hurry, we can probably make it before nightfall."

"Yeah, but before that," Houndour said, "Larry- or, Gastly, now- you told us before about being a Pokémon was great, but you're a girl now, too; what's that like? Still embarrassing, or…"

"It's still kinda weird," Gastly replied thoughtfully, "but it's not like a _dis_ like it either. Mostly, I'm just glad to be "alive", you know?" She laughed a little, and after a moment, the others joined in. "Still," she continued, sobering up, "I just don't understand what happened to you back there, Houndour. Those shadows… what were they?"

"I don't know," the Dark Pokémon replied truthfully. "What I do know is that I felt awful, but also that it didn't get really bad until I got to that courtyard. Then every painful thing that ever happened to me just slammed into me at once, over and over again, until I couldn't think, couldn't feel. I just wanted everything to _stop_ for a second, so I could get my head on straight, but my senses were on fire, and not the good kind, either. After a while, though, it just sort of… burned down, I guess?" He shrugged. "And when you finally proved it was, well, you, I was ecstatic, because you, you know, weren't dead. Well, "dead" dead. And all of a sudden, I wasn't angry anymore. And now, everything seems brighter than I've ever seen it."

"Weird…" Nidorina said, thinking. She looked as if she was going to say more, but barking from below the cliff told them they had more pressing matters. "Let's continue this at home," she said, already going north.

"Right!" said the remaining two as they followed.

* * *

"Hmm…" Above Sir Aaron's Hospital stood two figures, the watchers J and B. The former was breathing in one drawn out, continuous breath, drawing in something only he could see, but B knew full well the substance his partner was storing within himself: Shadow Energy, the stuff of nightmares. A slight hiccup from J alerted him to the completion of the process, and he asked, "You okay, man?"

"Fine." The reply was flat and stiff, a telltale sign of the malignant energy's presence. He rolled out a crick in his neck and continued in a more normal tone, "This is a lot more Shadow Energy than I was expecting from one Pokémon, though. He must have been carrying a lot of emotional baggage well before this. It's also possible that I picked up some from the hospital."

"The hospital has Shadow Energy?" B asked, surprised. "I thought only Pokémon generated it?"

"Humans generate the stuff, too. A lot less, mind you; it's all in relation to power output. In a hospital, though? All that pain and suffering, misery and death… it's generated at an absurd rate. The stuff seeps into the walls, the ground, the air…" He shook his head, and straightened his cloak. "Let's just go back to base. I need to drop this crap off."

"Right." He grabbed on, and the two vanished.


	16. The Shadows Over Jubilife!

_Lawsy me, back again in time for Don John's inauguration. It's a new era in America, everybody, for better or worse! Let's move away from more controversial talking points to the one at hand: A new chapter for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 16: The Shadows over Jubilife!

 _Jubilife City, September 27th, Morning_

"Finally, we're back on the road!" Barry cheered, his grin stretching from ear to ear. Beside him, Frigate hopped between the curb and the street, peeping with each jump.

Slifer rolled her eyes. "We'd have left yesterday, if we didn't have to clean up the courtyard you wrecked."

"But Houndour was the one who wrecked it!" the blonde protested.

"Chasing after you."

"And everyone else's Pokémon!"

"Not mine," Slifer asserted. "Coro's a good Pokémon, who doesn't stir up trouble with other Trainers' Pokémon." She rubbed the Magnet Pokémon's body, making it beep happily as it leaned in closer.

"Hmph!"

"Calm down, kids!" Mrs. Cedric said, concern apparent in her tone. Her insistence to stay with them for the reminder of their stay in Jubilife was met with some resistance from the more independence-minded members of the group, but a mother's honest worry for her child's safety often strikes a chord in the hearts of even the most aloof, so they acquiesced, with only Barry regretting the decision: June Cedric had the unfortunate (though by no means irrational) tendency to hover about him incessantly in her mission to keep him from getting in any more trouble.

"All right, I'll leave your baby alone," Slifer huffed, moving ahead to the heart of the group with Dawn and Vance. "So," she directed at the latter, "you had more than enough time to think on it, so I ask you: how's your team gonna be set up?" The whole group crowded in a bit closer to hear the answer; Vance's uncertainty, while by no means a huge talking point the past few days, was still important enough to the bet between them all that lines were drawn in the metaphorical sand: the "Typists" (named coined by Barry) wanted him to go with the Ground type, citing successful Trainer's such as Elite Four's Bertha ("How haven't you heard of her?" Slifer exclaimed at the completely lost Harlow. "She's been there for years!") to former Viridian City Gym Leader Giovanni ("The only other example you have is a Mafia boss? Who was beaten by an eleven year old?"). On the other side of the isle, the "Stylists" were having a similar amount of success swaying him to their side, for a somewhat different reason: where the Typists tried to sway him with ineffective examples, the Stylists had no examples at all, or even suggestions for a viable strategy. They were novice Trainers, after all; such things as advanced tactics and strategies were well and far away from being discovered at this point in their careers.

"Well, we may not have anything for you," Lucas said with a shrug, "but the Trainer's School definitely has classes about that. If we sign up now, we can start the Beginner's course on Monday."

"Remind me why we gotta take a week out of our schedule to do this course?" Dan groaned. "What are we gonna learn here that we shouldn't have learned for the Trainer exam?"

"The Trainer exam only tests to make sure you won't get yourself (or others) killed the moment you get a Shinx," Cyan answered. "The Trainer's School doubtless has other, more useful information, like how Pokémon evolve, or what moves they learn."

"Right," Lucas nodded. "Also, they're bound to have reference materials on Pokémon in at least the immediate area, which means we can fill up our Pokédex entries in earnest."

"Great, that's at least one thing we got planned," Slifer said. "And what luck, the School is just around the corner, according to Holly, so let's sign up already-"

 _Screeeech!_ The group halted, the far off screech soon being joined by at least a half-dozen more, further compounded by what almost sounded like rolls of thunder.

"They're coming back!" A man's voice rang out through the street, and pandemonium erupted, the residents of Jubilife grabbing hold of youths and small Pokémon and making way for any shelter they could reach from building to (in one notable case, anyway) side alley trash can. All the while, the screeches and flapping (for that's what it was) steadily grew louder, with harsh lances of reflected sunlight occasionally beaming down.

"We should probably follow everyone else," Vance said, already halfway to a nearby shop, when a cream-and-tan blur knocked him aside him with a screech, its path set on the group. Recognizing it as a Raticate, Dawn leapt aside with a shriek, and Barry slid neatly between her and the Pokémon. This gesture was rendered moot, though, by the Raticate ignoring them entirely in its one goal: a safe haven from the incoming threat. When it saw an open manhole cover, it immediately broke into a Double Edge in its haste, bowling over another person seeking succor, this time an old man, who was sent reeling to the ground with a hoarse cry of agony.

"Well, hell," Slifer supplied as the Raticate slipped into the sewer. "Everything went straight into the crapper. Also, we should probably help that guy."

"Right, I'll do it," Cyan said, already jogging for the man. "Everyone else, just go for that one store."

"I don't think we can do that just now," Dan whispered.

"Why's that?"

" _Qu_ OARK _!_ " A ripple of air from above slammed into the street ahead of them, spraying the group with bits of asphalt.

"That's why," Lucas deadpanned, nodding his head toward the half dozen Flying-types coasting past a nearby office tower.

"W…what _are_ those?"

"Skarmory," he answered, "the Armor Bird Pokémon. They're slower than most Flying-Types, but their metal bodies give them a huge advantage in offense and defense.

"Nobody make any _noticeable_ movements," he continued evenly, watching the Armor Birds caw raucously amongst themselves. "They'll dive if they think you're running away."

Slifer, after a moment's appraisal, pointed out, "It looks like only the one that fired off that, um, wind thing noticed us. The others' flight patterns seem pretty unconcerned. Also, it looks smaller than the others, so it may not be as strong."

"Oh yeah, that'll be great information when they rush as as a group!" Dan muttered, glaring at the sewer the Raticate slipped into.

"You can curse at the sewers later," Barry hissed, his gaze flitting between the Skarmory and the old man. "I think it's breaking off!" Indeed, the smaller Skarmory had broke off from the flock, making a beeline for the downed senior.

"Damn it," Cyan swore, "this just keeps getting worse. We have to do something…"

"Okay, obviously some of us have to help him to safety," Lucas mused, "but the doing of it'll be tricky. I remember Professor Rowan talking about them some years back, though, and one thing we can try would hinge on you, Cyan-"

"That might work!" Barry suddenly said. "Let's do it!"

"Barry, what are you talking about?" Lucas whispered to the blonde, before he and Dawn pushed their way to the front, their Pokémon at their heels.

"Lucas, you and Cyan help that man to safety. Barry and I'll distract the Skarmory," Dawn said, before calling, "Wukong, use Ember!"

"Frigate, use Bubble!" Twin beams of fire and water flew toward the Skarmory, who, only just tucking in its wings to increase its speed, flew straight into the sudden minefield. Though individually insignificant, the sharp cracks and snaps of dozens of embers and bubbles provided enough force to rattle the Armor Bird off its original path and down it entirely, its beak plowing a trench in the cement as it skidded alongside the curb. Hearing the mocking caws and chirps of its flock mates, it immediately stood up, more incensed than injured by far, and turned a murderous eye on its attackers.

"Uh oh," Barry gulped.

"Get ready!" Dawn yelled, backing up despite herself as it stalked toward them, its awkward gait typical for a Flying Pokémon. With one cacophonous flap, it released a blast of wind strong enough to chew up the street in its path and send the woefully underpowered starters flying. Their Trainers dived out of the way of the attack, the ground knocking the wind out of Dawn when she landed. She looked up to see Skarmory take to the air again… only to be brought down once more, this time by a bolt of electricity.

"Guess who's still here?" Slifer said cheerily, pointing Coro to a new position.

"As it turns out, we had nothing better to do than to help you out," Vance continued with a shrug, Garvey already readying an attack.

"Good thing, too," Dan said, calling out Sora. "We gotta take this one out before its friends decide to join in. Powder Snow!" The focused flurry of stinging snow smacked Skarmory in the face, blinding it. Taking to the air a third time, it rolled out of the way of Garvey's Dragon Rage, brushed off Coro's renewed Thunder Shock more or less unruffled, and dive-bombed the Magnemite with a Peck hard enough to put a noticeable dent in the Steel-Type's metal body. Climbing to a more comfortable altitude of some fifty feet, it then proceeded to rain down more of its trademark wind blasts on the splintered group, whose decision to adhere to the better part of valor was summed up by Barry: "EVERYBODY RUN!" Man and Mon alike bolted for the various shops and alleyways available. The Skarmory let them go; they learned early on that trying to follow humans into their nests was far more trouble than they were worth.

* * *

"Are you guys crazy!?" Lucas shouted, his Glare killing Dawn's rebellious retort in her throat. "If you thought a ragtag team of novices could take on a flock of Skarmory, why didn't you ask yourselves why nobody bothered to deal with them before now?" Dawn and Barry could only stare at their feet, only now thinking about just how badly their impromptu move could've backfired, especially if the rest of the flock weren't _quite_ as content watching the farce they performed. "Well?"

Dawn looked up again, willing herself to stand up for her idea. "Fine, we didn't beat the Skarmory like I hoped we could, but you and Cyan still got that man to safety, and that was the entire point!"

"Do you not know how much worse it could've been if the _rest_ of the Skarmory joined in? What happened today is the absolute exception to the rule! Skarmory are wary enough of capture that any battle with Trainers will instantly devolve into a melee; everyone of them that sees it will instantly come to drive you off. In damn near every case involving Skarmory flocks, the flock as a whole will mob up on Trainers who try to battle. I was already working out a plan with Cyan; this… fiasco was impossibly foolish and shortsighted. The two of you could've been seriously hurt!"

"Hey, man, we still did the job!" Barry yelled, momentarily taking his attention off the still quivering Frigate. "And no one was hurt this time, so what's the big deal?"

"Do you _still_ not see the problem?!" Lucas cut himself off before he got too far in, took a moment to compose himself, and continued: "You can't just go off and expect to maverick your way through a situation with no plan whatsoever. It's incredibly dangerous, and could put you back in the hospital in no time at all. How do you think we feel about that? Hell, how do you think your **Mom** would feel about that?" That got through to him, and he looked back down, no doubt thinking about the worry his mother was already feeling, not to say of the stress she'd be under if he was injured AGAIN. Seeing this, Lucas concluded his rant with a quiet, "Just, I don't know, try not to do something so reckless again, okay, guys?"

She flinched involuntarily, remembering the promise they made with Rowan: _…_ _Y_ _ou must promise me that you will never recklessly endanger yourselves again._ They broke that promise with wild abandon, with _Dawn_ of all people making the first move! _I thought it would go so well, though… Oh, who am I kidding, of course I didn't._ She wanted to think so, of course; that was a big part of why she did it, in fact. But the full reason was because, more than anything else, she thought that that reluctance to face the threat in front of her, to get out of the way while someone else solved the problem, was her being weak, VOLUNTARILY weak, no less. She and Wukong made a promise of their own: to become strong, together. _But all today proved was that not only am I weak, I wasn't able to think things through in the slightest._ _How can he become strong if all I can do is drag him down?_ She bowed her head to the older boy and said, "I'm sorry. This was all my idea, and I shouldn't have tried to do something so dangerous. It won't happen again, I swear."

 _I need to be better, and more importantly, I can't drag down anyone else while I'm doing so._ _I have to be strong, so THIS—these impossible trials like the Raticate and this Skarmory—NEVER happen again!_

* * *

Most of the flock, giving the Raticate they were hunting up for lost, had turned back north, where easier prey lurked, doubtless unprepared for their early return. The smallest Skarmory, however, gathered some loose litter into a makeshift on one of the higher buildings, content to wait for its new targets' caution to wane: the two humans and their Pokémon who struck it first. There were others, of course, particularly the bizarre beeping ball and its human, but overall it placed the blame for its humiliation squarely on the first pair's shoulders. Besides, upon seeing their friends in trouble, the rest would come out of hiding to help, believing in strength in numbers. Next time, however, there would be numbers on both sides, and it would be blades of both metal and air that decided the victor then.

* * *

Well, until next time, Thanks for reading! Follow, Favorite, and Review if you want to, but it's perfectly fine if you don't!


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